Harry Potter and the Godfathers
by AmeliaDarkholme
Summary: What if Sirius got to Harry first before Hagrid all those years ago when Voldemort killed James and Lily? Would Harry grew up to be same person as we all know, or would he be a different person under Sirius' and Remus' care? (Blackinnon/Meadowpin)
1. Prologue

**CHARACTERS (adults):**  
Sirius Black : Ben Barnes  
Remus Lupin : Andrew Garfield  
Marlene McKinnon : Talulah Riley  
Dorcas Meadowes : Felicity Jones

 **CHARACTERS (children):**  
Harry Potter : Daniel Radcliffe  
Ron Weasley : Rupert Grint  
Hermione Granger : Emma Watson  
Draco Malfoy : Tom Felton

 **NOTES:** This story is based on the little post I made on tumblr (ofqueensandwitches). I'll try to stay to Rowling's plot as much as I can. And I'd like to add that because this story is a Blackinnon/Meadowpin one, Marlene and Dorcas are alive, okay? Also, because I really don't want to change the real actors or my face-claim for the Marauders, let's just pretend they were of proper age for the story. One more thing: constructive criticism is always welcomed, but be polite about it. Flames are not appreciated. Everything clear? Very well then; happy reading!

* * *

 _"It's him, Lily! Take Harry and run! I'll hold him off as long as I can! Just go!"_

 _"Please, not Harry! Not my Harry!"_

 _"Avada Kedavra!"_

* * *

Sirius Black had made a mistake.

The moment he found Peter's house empty ( _fucking rat bastard_ ), Sirius knew that he had been so wrong. He prided himself on his ability to sense danger, but when he felt a chill running down his spine, for the first time ever, he wished he wasn't feeling it this time. He didn't spare another second and hurried off to Apparate to James' home. He felt like he was going to die right then and there when he saw the house was completely destroyed. He was trembling from top to toe, the grief he felt was too much for him, but still he forced himself to look into the house. Memories of his best friend ( _oh, James_ ) filled his mind as he stepped inside, moments when they spent Christmas together, or when he helped the young couple first moved into the house… A heart-wrenching sob escaped him when he found his best friend lying on the floor in the living room, his lifeless eyes stared wide opened at Sirius. His best friend, his _brother_ , was dead. James was no more. Never again would he scold Sirius carelessness, even if he secretly found it funny. Never again would he sneak his wife's cooking for Sirius in the middle of the night. His best friend was _gone_. It took all the will Sirius had in him to make his way into James' room ( _because good God, Sirius, Lily just_ can't _sleep without Harry being ten feet away from her)_ , knowing already what he'd find there. But it still killed him when he saw Lily's form on the floor beside Harry's crib, where the baby himself was crying loudly for the mother that would never wake up again.

"Ma… Mama… Da…" little Harry cried, sobbing over his own tears. Sirius gulped and picked the baby up into his arms. The sight of a familiar face calmed the crying child a little bit, and he hiccuped a small giggle as his chubby fingers poked Sirius' cheek.

"Hiya, Harry," Sirius whispered, burying his face into Harry's mop of unruly hair ( _so much like James_ ). "You'll come with Padfoot, okay? I'll keep you save."

The baby looked at him, his uncanny green eyes ( _why, Lily? Why did you have to die and leave your child alone?_ ) looked right back into Sirius' grey ones with a startling odd look in them. It was like the little child understood what Sirius just told him. That was probably what made up his mind. He was aware that he had no experience in taking care of a child – heck, he could barely take care of _himself,_ and there was a big chance Sirius' live would change greatly ( _I'm sorry Marlene)._ But he had promised James and Lily, and Sirius would keep that promise. Looking around the room, Sirius knew Harry was his number one priority now. Fucking Pettigrew just had to wait. He took enough time to picture his secret safehouse, all the way in New Zealand, and Apparated away right when Hagrid burst into the room, watching Sirius Disapparated from the house.

With Harry.

* * *

" _He took 'im! He took little 'Arry!_ " Hagrid bellowed when he appeared right in front of Dumbledore and McGonagall, waving his umbrella wildly with worrying carelessness.

"Merlin, Hagrid, low your voice down!" McGonagall hissed, her tone taking the usual stern and authoritive one she often used toward her students.

( _Especially to that meddling foursome._ )

"I'm sorry, Professor!" Hagrid whispered quickly, though it was still loud enough to probably wake the Muggles within twenty to fifty radius. "But he took 'Arry!"

"Who, Hagrid?" Dumbledore asked, his voice all calm and collected, but one could still detect the urgency in it. "Who took Harry?"

" _Sirius Black!_ " Hagrid exclaimed. "He was there in the house when I got there. I saw him Disapparated away."

"Oh, dear…" McGonagall breathed, her face paling a little. "What Pettigrew said was right. He was right. Black – "

"Now, now, Minerva," Dumbledore cut her off. "We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions so quickly. I'm sure that Sirius has an explanation to what he did."

"But, what if – "

" _No_ ," Dumbledore said, this time there was a finality in his light tone. "Sirius wouldn't do that to James. The boy is capable of many things, but he'll never betray his brother."

McGonagall pursed her thin lips but said nothing more. Sighing, she finally said, "What shall we do then, Albus?"

Giving a sad smile, Dumbledore said, "We wait and pray that Sirius knows what he's doing. We have faith in him and hope for the best."

* * *

A loud cry was heard in the small cottage in Inglewood, New Zealand. The cry obviously came from the small child being held by the tall man with his mercurial eyes, his handsome face looked worn and tired.

"Don't cry, Harry, please," Sirius said softly, bouncing Harry a little in his arms as he paced around the room. "It's only been three days. We'll have to make sure that Voldemort is really gone. Until then, it's not safe for us to go back home."

Miraculously, the baby's cries ceased to exist. Clapping his hands together, he began to giggle. Sirius sighed in relief and kissed the top of Harry's head.

"Thank you, Fawn. I promise, we'll go home soon. I promise."

* * *

"It's been a week, Dumbledore! A week and I've got _nothing_!" Remus yelled as he barged into Dumbledore's office. "Please tell me that – _what is_ _he doing here_?"

Remus stared ( _he glared, actually_ ) at the form of his childhood nemesis sitting in front of his former Headmaster. Snape was just as unpleasant to look at as he was back when they were still students of Hogwarts. But Remus knew that he was now a Death Eater, and he could _not_ understood what in the world was Dumbledore thinking to accept the greasy snake.

"Ah, Remus," Dumbledore said, smiling brightly at the werewolf. "Do sit down, please."

"I'm sitting nowhere beside that Death Eater," Remus snapped, glaring murderously at the former Slytherin, whose black eyes were staring at Remus with absolute hatred. The pain of losing his best friend were enough for Remus to have a personality transplant.

"Nor would I sit with a werewolf," Snape answered silkily. That did it for Remus.

"You-"

"Boys, sit down," Dumbledore said sharply. "You two are adults now. I expect you to be way over your petty and childish rivalry."

Both men ( _oh Merlin, but look how much they'd both grown_ ) glared murderously at each other. But in the end, they complied and Remus took a sit beside Snape, who scooted his chair away from Remus not-so swiftly. If Dumbledore sensed the tension between his former students, he was wise enough to ignore it and instead, he grabbed a piece of parchment that he received just a couple of hours before Snape came to see him.

"Remus, you were asking why Severus was here. Well, he came to see me to ask whether I had a spot for a rogue Death Eater that would spy for me on Voldemort."

"'Rogue Death Eater'?" Remus snorted. "You can't stop being one. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater."

"He told me that he knew the culprit who sold James and Lily to Voldemort," Dumbledore continued. Instantly, that got Remus' attention.

"What?" he yelped. "Wait a second… _He what?_ "

"Wow, Lupin, I didn't know you were this stupid," Snape drawled maliciously. "No wonder he got away so easily."

"Shut up, you bastard," Remus spat, whirling around to face the Death Eater. "You don't talk unless you tell me who was it that-"

"It's Pettigrew," Snape said curtly, the look on his face told Remus how stupid he thought Remus was. "You must be a bigger idiot than both Potter and Black combined if you didn't notice the time he spent missing at night."

Remus would have killed Snape for the off-handed comment he made on James and Sirius, had it not for the fact that he was too shocked to react. It couldn't be true. He just saw Peter _minutes_ ago, and his old friend was still grieving for James and Lily, all the while blaming himself for what Sirius had done as Remus and Dorcas tried to calm his hysterics, the whole time trying to keep themselves under control. Once he finally got over his shock, an uncontrollable anger began to take over. Remus rarely let the wolf in him to dictate his emotions, but right at that moment, he wished that it was the full moon so he could let the beast loose on his _so-called_ best friend.

" _That bastard_ ," Remus hissed, barely able to contain his anger as his green eyes flashed yellow for a moment. "After _all_ James and Sirius had done for him. _How could he…_ "

"He'll pay for it, Remus," Dumbledore said. "He'll pay for his crimes."

Remus nodded wordlessly, too angry to say anything.

"Now that we have everything explained, I'm going to show you the letter I just received this morning from Sirius."

* * *

"We're coming home, Harry," Sirius said, a small but radiant smile on his handsome face. "We're coming home and we'll see Uncle Moony again, and Aunt Marley and Aunt Doe."

Little Harry giggled when Sirius tickled his tummy. The sound brought a round of laughter from the man as he scanned his cottage for once last time. The sole Heir to the Black family fortune, the only male Black left in Britain, knew that this was it; that this was the time for him to face everything back home. He'd been gone for over two weeks, and it was time to get Peter - no, _Pettigrew_ for everything he'd done.

And made him pay for betraying his friends.

* * *

 _Bang. Bang. Bang._

The sound that came for the little hammer Barty Crouch Sr pounded against his table sealed the fate of one Peter Pettigrew night. The man's beady eyes went wide as tears went down his face profusely before he began to wail, yelling and screaming for his last two remaining friends for mercy, fighting to break-free from the grip of the two Aurors that held him. But said friends never budged, their face impassive as they stared at the crying man that was screaming their name.

"Sirius! Remus! Please, don't let them take me! Don't do this to me, please! I'm sorry! _I'm sorry!_ I know I shouldn't have done it, _but please_! Please, don't do this," Pettigrew screamed loudly, still fighting with all his might, even as he was being dragged away by the Aurors.

But still, Sirius and Remus showed no mercy. The werewolf merely grabbed Harry from Sirius's arms before he exited the room with his girlfriend beside him, his face showed little to no emotion except the blatant hatred he had for the screaming _filth_ as he walked through throng of people with his best friend's son his arms. And Sirius… The last living heir of the Black family merely stared stonily at Pettigrew, his mercurial eyes, cold and brutal they were toward people he loathed, never showed the mercy his former friend asked from him. They just stared long and hard, until he too followed his best friend and his Godson, linking his hand with his fiancée for her comfort.

Pettigrew's loud scream could be heard all over the fifth floor of the Ministry when he saw both of his old friends had left him


	2. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 1

**NOTES:** So, as you guys probably have guessed, this story will follow Harry's journey starting from his first year to his victory for killing Voldemort. If any of you want to send me manips or anything (poems or whatever) regarding the story, feel free to do so, okay? Just submit it to my tumblr account ofqueendsandwitches ;) That's all I've to say, I guess. Gonna go back to writing now. Here goes the next chapter!

* * *

"First day of school, huh?" Sirius said to his Godson. It was Harry's first year and the boy only had a few minutes before he had to board the train soon.

"Yep," Harry said with a grin. "I'm finally going to Hogwarts. _Finally!_ "

"What? So eager to get rid off us so soon?" Remus chuckled as he stood beside his best friend. Despite the relatively happy occasion, Remus couldn't help the gut-wrenching feeling he felt when he looked at Harry, remembering how twenty years ago, there was another boy who looked _a lot_ like Harry who had incessantly asked Remus about his name until he relented.

"It's not like that, Remus," Harry said quickly. "I only wanted to go see the place where Mum and Dad met. I mean, you guys told me all the stories about their days here."

"Relax, kid," Sirius said, laughing his signature bark-like laugh. "We know you didn't mean it that way... Now come here, Prongsie; give your Mummy and I a kiss."

"Ew, Sirius," Harry said, scrunching his nose. "Knock it off already. You have a _fiancée_ remember."

"Yeah, how am I supposed to explain to Marlene that her stupid _boyfriend_ is lusting after me? Besides, why should _I_ be the mother?"

"Because you're fussy like an annoying mum!" Sirius exclaimed childishly. "We both know that if anyone should be the dad between the two of us, it'll be me. And Marlene would just laugh it off. She knew she said yes to a dick when I proposed to her."

"Language, Sirius," Remus spat, still a bit annoyed because of how his friend described him. Said friend merely grinned in return.

"See, Harry? He scolded me, a full grown wizard. A mother, I told you."

The train whistled, signaling that Harry really had to go. Feeling Sirius' hand on his back, Harry gave the Pureblood a hug and said, "Promise you'll tell me when Marlene gives birth?"

Sirius smiled and bent his knees so he was eye-level with his Godson. "Of course, I will. You know what; I'll probably ask for a day off from Dumbledore so you could come and see."

"Okay," Harry said, relieved with the promise Sirius gave. Turning to his other father-figure, Harry gave Remus' his hug, to which the werewolf returned whole-heartedly. "Look after Sirius for me, okay? Tell Dorcas to make sure he doesn't sneak into the kitchen anymore. We can't have him burning the house down to the ground."

" _Hey!"_ Sirius protested jokingly.

"Don't worry about that, Harry," Remus chuckled, ruffling Harry's hair. "Now, go. You don't want to be late, right?"

Harry nodded with a smile before he went toward the train, looking over his shoulder once so he could wave at his Godfathers. True, legally, Sirius and Marlene were registered as his legal guardians. But Remus and Dorcas had their own part on raising him, so Harry felt that it was only fair to consider them his Godparents as well. He boarded the train with little difficulties, thanks to his trunk being _so heavy_ because of what his Godmothers had stored in it. Marlene and Dorcas took the role of being a mother _so seriously_ , sometimes Harry found it super annoying when they began to smother him with attention. There was no question about Harry's love and affection for both women, but sometimes it could be too much. Thank Merlin Sirius and Remus were there to remind them that Harry would be okay and there would be no need for them to constantly watch over Harry 24/7. Quickly maneuvering around the train, Harry found an empty compartment to sit. Storing his trunk into the cabin, he was just in time to wave at Sirius and Remus through the windows before the train started moving. The Pureblood and his werewolf friend waved back at Harry, smiling so wide Harry thought his face would split. When the train took a turn and Harry could no longer see his Godfathers, that was when he finally sat on one of the many empty seats. He felt his heart beating madly in both excitement and fear. He was going to Hogwarts at last – the place where his parents met, where it all began.

"Can I sit in here? Everywhere else is full."

Harry looked away from the window to see a tall and freckled boy with red hair standing in the door to his compartment. He was wearing oversized jumper that had probably seen better days before. The boy looked really awkward and lonely, one hand tapping the handle of his trunk while the other was shoved deep into his pocket.

"Sure," Harry said, smiling. He remembered Remus telling him that it was always important to make friends with everyone, no matter how their appearances were.

The redhead's face cracked in an earnest grin as he hurried to get in. He gave out his hand to Harry after he'd put his trunk away and finally taking a seat in front of Harry. "I'm Ron Weasley. Nice to meet you."

"Harry Potter." He braced himself for the reaction he knew would _definitely_ happen, and was not disappointed when Ron's eyes went wide as saucers.

"Bloody hell…" the redhead whistled. " _You're Harry Potter?"_

Sighing, Harry said, "Yep. That's me."

Ron blinked a couple times until he spoke again. "Do you really live with Aurors Sirius Black and Remus Lupin?"

Ever since his parents' death, Sirius and Remus became _very_ popular for their participation in capturing their own best friend Peter Pettigrew, who had betrayed James and Lily. That was what led to their decision to join the Aurors, despite being a little too late. It didn't matter because both men were brilliant wizards, and they finished their training faster than most candidates did. Fueled by their best friends' death and Wormtail's betrayal, Sirius and Remus swore that they'd try all their might to capture ( _or kill)_ every single Death Eater in the world, and would never stop fighting until they'd killed Voldemort. That made the two remaining Marauders very popular in the world. It didn't help that their significant others, Sirius' fiancée Marlene McKinnon and Remus' wife Dorcas Lupin neé Meadowes, had managed to make a name for themselves. Marlene worked in the Ministry as the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, strategically placed by the Order ( _and_ nope, _Harry didn't spend most of his nights eavesdropping to his Godparents' conversation, nu-uh)_ to watch everything the Ministry did, and was popular for being the one who had managed to make sure other countries from around the world would support Britain fighting off Voldemort. Dorcas, on the other hand, was Chief Healer in St Mungo's, had managed to Sirius and Remus _numerous_ times from dying every time they were injured badly during a mission.

"They are my Godfathers," Harry finally answered. "And yes, before you ask about it; I also live with Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Lupin."

"Wow," Ron said. "What are you doing here then?"

It made Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… Seeing that you were who you were, I thought you'd be hanging out with the others. You know… People like Malfoy and his friends."

"Ron," Harry noticed Ron's eyes widened at the mention of his first name. "You do know who my parents were, right? Who my Godfathers are? Why in the world would I want to hang around with people like _Malfoy_?"

"I'm sorry," Ron quickly said, his ears going red. "It's just… I just figured that, seeing your Godfather was the Head Council for the Sacred Twenty Eight, and well, the fact you're famous and…and rich, you'd prefer someone like them."

The way Ron talked reminded Harry of the story Sirius told him about how he and Harry's father befriended Remus. The redhead in front of him had the same low self-esteem as his Godfather did, and Harry felt almost _obligated_ to befriend Ron. He knew his parents would be _so proud_ of him if they were watching up there from Heaven. Grinning, Harry said, "Ron Weasley, I'd rather be friends with you than Malfoy. Promise."

( _"Remus Lupin, I hereby promise you that myself and my best friend Sirius Black will be your friend till the end of time.")_

 _("Yeah! And we would have made an Unbreakable Vow right now, if only we knew how. So, hopefully, our words would be enough for you.")_

* * *

"It's time for dinner! Pack your toys up, boys!"

"Doe, they are _not_ toys! They are limited edition of the Tornados' and Puddlemer's figurines!"

"Remus, tell your boyfriend to quit it or I'll set Marlene loose on him."

"Of course, love… Sirius, pack it up."

"You are _so_ whipped, Moony. Really."

"I'll bloody whip _you_ if you didn't come down now, Black."

"Right away, Marley dear."

It was a daily thing in the Black-Lupin household to hear loud noises between the two couples that resided there. At least, the fact that the house was big enough to house _twenty_ people became the reason the house had no neighbours within the radius of fifty metres. It was built right after Wormtail's captivity, when Sirius and Remus decided that if they wanted to raise Harry together, it would be better for them to live together. But, seeing that both their partners wished for privacy, even if they understood the importance of looking after Harry for both Sirius and Remus, the heir to the Black fortune ended up asking the Magi-architect to design a house with more than enough space. Thank Merlin Sirius had unlimited resources because it wasn't exactly cheap to build the house. Originally, after he was disowned, all of the Black fortune was supposed to be passed on to his brother Regulus. But because the younger Black had died before Sirius or their parents did, Orion and Walburga were forced to change the name back to Sirius' in their will, much to their utmost dismay. Before James' and Lily's death, Sirius would never touch a single Knut in the family vault. It was only because he realised the urgent need of his parents' money that he finally relented.

After Sirius and Remus had finished tidying up their toys ( _"It's actually Harry's, really."),_ they quickly headed downstairs to the dining room, knowing that they better not made the women waited any longer. Sirius quickly positioned himself on his usual seat beside Marlene, while Remus took his seat beside Dorcas. He watched his pregnant fiancée of ten years bustling around the kitchen with her best friend with pure adoration in his eyes, wondering how the hell he could get _so lucky._ He remembered that night when he found Marlene under the rubble of her parents' home, her whole family slaughtered by the Death Eaters that attacked them when they were celebrating Marlene's sister's birthday. Sirius wasted no time and Apparated her to St Mungo's, the whole time wishing she wouldn't _die_ in his arms. James and Lily were still alive back then, and Sirius was pretty sure the only reason he hadn't completely gone mad back then was because of their support. When it was finally revealed that Marlene would be alright, Sirius _cried_ in relief with Lily's arms around him, stroking his hair as she whispered nothings into his ear while James patted his back gently. He only had a fake-ring in his hand, a gift from this Muggle candy Lily gave him, but he didn't care about it _at all_ when he marched into Marlene's room when she was finally awake, proposing her with the fake-ring. It had been a decade, and even if they hadn't married yet because they deemed the time wasn't right yet, Sirius still loved Marlene more than he loved life itself.

"Has Dumbledore said anything about Harry yet?" Dorcas asked as they finally began to dig in.

"Not yet," Remus answered. "I think Harry's just arrived an hour ago, Doe. And given the normal duration of the feast, Dumbledore wouldn't be able to Floo or send a Patronus until very late."

"Oh yeah…" Dorcas muttered before letting a small sigh. "God, he's only been gone for twelve hours but I miss him already."

"Yeah, me too," Marlene agreed. "I almost went to his room asking what did he want for dinner, before stopping myself right before I knocked on his door."

"Our boy has grown, huh?" Sirius said with a fond smile. "Soon enough, he'll be asking _me_ about dating advices."

"You've got the _worst_ dating advices, Sirius," Marlene said, rolling her eyes. "If Harry should be asking anyone about it, that'd be _me."_

 _"_ You're a girl, love. Why in the world would he ask you?"

"I think you could very well answer that one yourself, _love."_

Their bickering made the Lupins laughed out loud. Reaching for her husband's hand from under the table, Dorcas said, "Let's just hope that Harry wouldn't be as much of a trouble as you boys were."

" _Dorcas,"_ Sirius sighed dramatically, giving her a mock-strict look. "Don't be silly. You _do_ know who his father was, right? He also grew up with _two_ Marauders who told him stories about how said Marauders and his late father were back when they were kids. It think it's a given that Harry would be a prankster as well."

"Harry's a good boy," Remus said. "He could be a handful at times, but it's a good thing I'm always around to make sure Sirius hasn't corrupted the child completely."

" _Moony!"_ Sirius whined. "You're supposed to be on _my_ side. I am disappointed in you, mate. No Elf-win for you for a week."

Remus shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever, Sirius. I can always ask my wife or Marlene. I'm sure they'd be more than glad to give some for me instead of you."

"Only if you behave, mister," Dorcas said with a wink, discreetly squeezing Remus' hand that was still under the table. A rare, sneaky grin took over the werewolf' face as he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, I'll _behave,_ alright," Remus drawled, leaning in for a kiss. At the sight of their best friends kissing, both Sirius and Marlene scrunched their faces in disgust.

"Get a room, you two," Marlene said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah! I'm eating over here!" Sirius agreed. The Lupins ignored them. Instead, Remus lifted his wife from her seat and carried her to their room, ignoring their unfinished dinner.

The remaining couple left in dining room could only stare at the rare display of affection they saw with wide eyes. But Sirius could only be silent for so long before a smirk came to his face.

"Looks like they're _eager_ to make a baby of their own," Sirius chuckled, eyeing the door where the Lupins just disappeared into.

Marlene slapped her fiancé hard on the back of his head. "You are _very_ crude, you know. Why the hell would I say yes to your proposal was _beyond_ me."

Giving his fiancée a wolfish grin, Sirius said, "It's because you _love_ me, Miss Marlene. Now, come on. We have an early appointment with our king-sized bed."


	3. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 2

Hermione Granger woke up with a bright smile on her face that first day of her being a student of Hogwarts. She'd always known that there was something… _wrong_ with her, that there was a reason to why she could never feel belong with her friends back at home. It was until that summer when Minerva McGonagall came to her house, after the arrival of her Hogwarts letter, that Hermione finally understood why. To say that she was ecstatic to find out that she actually belonged to a whole new world – a _magical_ one – would be an understatement. The moment McGonagall took her and her parents to Diagon Alley to buy her things, Hermione took it as her chance to get _all_ the books about this new world she could get her hands on, so she could understand everything. She learned a great a deal during the summer before she went to Hogwarts, about dragons and spells and many other things. The thing that caught her attention the most was when she read the book titled _The Sacred Twenty-Eight._ The book explained about this council of what the author called as Purebloods, which meant people who came from a long line of magic. The book told her that most of the members were prejudiced when it came to Muggle-borns; people like Hermione who had no magical blood. But there were some Purebloods who were open-minded and very accepting toward the Muggle-borns. This resulted in a horrible war, led by an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort, that killed many people from both sides of the war. The information she learned brought both pain and also a weird sense of excitement to little Hermione. She was very disappointed to find out that there would be people out here who hated her just because of her bloodline, yet she was also interested in knowing further about this war. She always loved the stories her Grandfather told her about the World War 2 he was involved in.

After she was done getting ready, Hermione grabbed her school-bag she had prepared the previous night, and quickly went out of the girls' dormitory and out of Gryffindor Tower. She hastily made her way down to Great Hall, hoping that she could talk to _someone_ she met the previous day on the train, hoping that she had enough time before her first class. When she boarded the train after the train started to whistle its signal for all passengers to board the train, she had a little trouble when she tried to pull her heavy trunk onto the train. Her parents were a little too busy looking around the train station with a wondrous amazement akin to that of a little child had. So, Hermione was all alone, struggling with all her might to get the train on board, when she felt a hand helped her. The hand was not much bigger than her, but it certainly belonged to a boy's. With a little grunt, they both managed to finally lift the trunk onto the train. Once she was done huffing huge air from her mouth, Hermione turned her head to have a look at the person who had helped her. Now, we all had to remember that little Hermione wasn't _so_ little after all. She was almost twelve, and she already had small crushes on her neighbor Tom Booth, who, in her opinion, was _really_ handsome. But, when she got a good look on the boy standing beside her, whose skin was two shades lighter than her own, with platinum-blonde hair and mesmerizing grey eyes, Hermione found herself dumbstruck at the presence of this beautiful boy.

"Excuse me?" a boy with messy raven-hair said, interrupting her thoughts. "Do you still want that?"

Hermione blinked and focused her sight at the boy in front of her. The first thing she noticed was his startling green-eyes. He was giving her a smile as he pointed at the jug of pumpkin juice in her hand, and Hermione blushed when she realised she had been holding it for awhile. Passing it to his hand, she said, "I'm sorry. I got a little sidetracked."

"That's alright," he said, still smiling. "You're Hermione, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," Hermione said, shaking his hand when he gave it to her. "I didn't mean to be rude, but you are…?"

"I'm Harry Potter," he said in small voice, flinching when the students within the radius of a meter away from instantly whipped their heads at his direction. Nodding at the redhead beside him, he said, "And this is my friend, Ron Weasley."

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said half-distractedly, her mind had gone through all the information she read in the books her parents bought her because these two boys' name were _familiar._ When everything clicked in her, she gasped loudly. " _Oh my God, you're Harry Potter!"_

"Ah, yes…" Harry muttered, blushing a little. "But will you please don't say my name out loud?"

Harry shouldn't be worried about it though, because Hermione had turned her head to Ron, who looked a little scared at the excited look on the young girl's face. " _And you!_ Your family is part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight!"

"They are – I mean, _we_ are," Ron said quickly, looking a little pleased. But it quickly changed as he tilted his head to the side a little, watching Hermione closely. "You're a Muggle-born, aren't you?"

Hermione stiffened immediately at the use of the term. That _boy_ had said the same thing to her as well when she said no about whether she was related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, before quickly excusing himself with a barely audible mutter. Crossing her arms defensively, Hermione said, "I _am_ a Muggle-born. Do you have a problem with that?"

Before Ron could answer, however, Harry had done it for him. "Not all of the Purebloods are as prejudiced as the old generations were. There are some who are just plain evil, yes. But I can assure you that the Weasleys are good people."

"Yeah," Ron said, giving her a friendly smile. "We Weasleys aren't like most of the Dark Pureblood families out there, like the Blacks and the Malfoys."

" _Excuse me,"_ Harry's voice rang loud and clear in blatant offense. Ron's ears went red in shame, as if he was chastised.

"Right, sorry," the redhead murmured. "I forgot your Godfather was a Black."

Hermione would have asked Harry whether the Godfather Ron talked about was _the_ Sirius Black she had read in many of her books, when that _boy_ came into the Great Hall, two boys that were bigger than him were dutifully following him as _he_ walked ahead of them with another two boys and an overly-clingy girl. Ron's words went on infinite repeat in her head as her eyes kept on following _his_ figure going to the Slytherin table, the farthest one from her Gryffindor table. She knew that the moment she learned who he was, and remembered about his family being the second oldest after the Blacks, there were little to no chance for them to be friends – _at all._ But she still hoped that maybe, this boy might be different. That maybe, he'd turn out alright against all of his parents teachings. He wouldn't be the first one if he did. Sirius Black, according to the stories she read, had done it twenty years ago. So, for the rest of the morning until she had to go to class, she spent her time eyeing the boy that had helped her to get her trunk onto the train, willing him to look at her and show some sort of recognition in his beautiful grey eyes.

He did, in the end, found her eyes in the midst of the crowd.

Except they were now filled with disgust.

 _("Thanks for helping me.")_

 _("Yeah, well; you look like you needed it.")_

* * *

Marlene McKinnon knew what she was signing up for when she joined the Order of the Phoenix. She knew that she was signing up for life-long of mortal danger and more than possible-death. She was only eighteen when she first got involved head-first into the War, just a few months after she graduated out of Hogwarts. Almost immediately, her friends started dying out one by one, murdered in a fight or during an ambush. She lost a total of around thirty friends during the first war, and she remembered _every_ single one of them and the details about how they died. It was a year later when she lost her family; her parents and her siblings. Marlene herself would have died if the Order hadn't arrived hours later, right on time to save her from the loss of blood. When she woke up and found Sirius sitting on the standard-issue visitor's seat beside her bed, his limbs folded into himself in a very uncomfortable way, that was when Marlene knew that she could lose _everything_ in this world, even her life. But she could _never_ stand it if she lost the stubborn Pureblood that she kicked in the balls in their fifth year. So, when she woke him up and he hastily, after a few deep kisses and tears, proposed her with a fake-ring that had plastic diamonds on it, Marlene said with no doubt at all. She still had the ring with her, hanging as a charm to her bracelet.

"Mar?" Dorcas' said, her head poking out from behind the door of the Marlene's marital room.

"Hi, Doe," Marlene greeted meekly, waving her hand to signal her friend to come in. Dorcas did so and took a seat beside Marlene, who had scooted to the left side ( _Sirius always slept on the right, so he could be between her and whatever danger that would come through the door)._

"You're feeling okay? How's my future-honorary-niece?" The petite witch patted Marlene's swollen belly, smiling fondly at the thought of little-Marlene or little-Sirius running around the house. The witch was due to give birth in two weeks.

"We're fine, Auntie Doe," Marlene chuckled, squeezing her best friend's hand firmly. The two witches then shared a look, which prompted a distressed sigh out of Marlene. "Personally, though, I'll be much better if our boys are home."

Letting out another sigh, Marlene leaned further into her pillows and closed her eyes. It had been a little over two months since Harry left for Hogwarts, and just a week later, Sirius and Remus were summoned to go on an Auror mission. Both of them always went together because they worked better with each other than with others. But it had been ten days since Marlene heard anything from her man, and she knew that Dorcas hadn't anything from Remus as well. Every time there was an owl perching by the kitchen windows, Marlene hoped it was from Sirius (or Remus, for Dorcas' sake). But the only mails she got were from Harry and from work. The beautiful witch began to worry about her husband, knowing that Sirius could be a little too heroic and self-sacrificing every time it involved people he cared about. She had tried contacting Mad-Eye Moody in hopes that the temperamental wizard would tell her anything about her fiancé. But, as always, Moody wouldn't say a thing. He merely said that Sirius and Remus were going to a very dangerous and deathly mission ( _as if that would sooth her worries),_ and that Marlene shouldn't worry because Sirius and Remus were more than just brilliant wizards.

"And if they were hurt," Moody had added with a twisted grin. "It probably wouldn't be that bad. Maybe they'd lose an arm, or a leg. Or their eyes. Not worth all the fuss."

Marlene would have hexed Moody right then and there if she wasn't worrying about the fact that if she got too worked up, she'd injure her baby.

"I can't believe you got pregnant before I did," Dorcas said, interrupting Marlene's thought. There was something that sounded peculiarly like jealousy in her tone.

"I told you, Doe, we didn't mean for it to happen. Stupid Sirius got the both of us too drunk to be sensible adults and put some Contraceptive Charms."

"Still though… At least Sirius was never against having a baby. You two just agreed to wait until the time was right. Now, Remus, he's another story."

Marlene smiled sadly at Dorcas. She knew how the petite witch wanted to have a child so badly. But Remus feared that his lycanthropy was hereditary, and he swore that he'd never condemned his child with the terrible fate he had. It wasn't like Remus didn't like children or didn't want them. If that was the case, Dorcas could probably try to make peace with herself and tried to move on about the topic of having a child. But it was because the fact that Remus was _scared_ to have children, both his own or adopted, that made the longing Dorcas felt was almost too unbearable – _because she knew that Remus wanted a child too._ It took sometime for Sirius to convince Remus that _both_ of them should raise Harry. After he finally relented, it took Remus another five months till he finally had the guts to hold Harry. Sirius and Marlene had relentlessly told the werewolf that he was a good man; that he shouldn't be worried that he would hurt his children or that he'd pass his lycanthropy to his kids because, from what Marlene had tried to find out, there was no case reciting about lycanthropy being hereditary _("That's because no werewolf ever had a proper family," Remus had replied coolly.)._ And if it turned to be hereditary, they all promised to help Remus and the child, and convinced him that it wouldn't be his fault at all. But Remus Lupin was every bit a Marauder as his best friend Sirius Black was, and therefore, stubbornness was a trait the two shared.

"He'll change his mind, Doe," Marlene said, patting Dorcas' knee. "I've caught him looking fondly at Sirius caressing my belly many times. I can tell that he really wants to have a child of his own."

"Yes, but when? When will he finally change his mind? Mar, I'm not getting any younger. I'm already thirty-one. In ten years, I'll be too old to carry a child. It's easy for him to wait. Men don't have to carry their spawn for nine months and risk their lives getting the kid out of them," Dorcas said miserably. Marlene sighed, knowing how frustrated her best friend was.

"Have faith in him. Remus is a smart man; he'll know that he can't have you waiting on him to be ready for too long." Taking a deep breath, Marlene knew she had to change the subject because it had turned too melancholic. "Now, do you want to me to read you the letter I just received from Harry? He told me something very interesting about the Halloween feast."

During the two months Harry had spent in Hogwarts, many things had happened to him. First thing Harry told them was that he befriended the youngest Weasley boy ( _"Oh, Molly's son, right?" Sirius had said. "Our boy is a clever one after all. I really liked Molly's brothers, Fabian and Gideon. They knew really good pranks.")_ and in no time, they'd become really good friends. Secondly, he told them that he was also good friends with Neville Longbottom, though the boy was a bit too quiet for Harry's mischievous nature. He then told them about the day he got into the Quidditch team as a Seeker (" _A Seeker! The first one in a century to ever make the team as a_ first _year!" Marlene and Dorcas had yelled as the two twirled around the dining room.)._ Each one of his letters brought laughter in the Black-Lupin household, and the adults always waited for his letters eagerly.

"Oh, how is he doing?" Dorcas said immediately. "Is he doing alright? It was the same day as his parents' death anniversary after all, and he had to go through it alone for the first time."

"He was a bit distraught, yes. I mean, who wouldn't? But, halfway through the feast, that new DADA professor, Quirrel, came running into the Hall, yelling that a troll just broke into the dungeons."

"Dear Merlin… What happened then? Was he hurt?"

"Well, this was where the story got really interesting. He said that, a few hours prior to the feast, his friend Ron got into a huge argument with Harry's only female friend, Hermione Granger."

"Oh, the Muggle-born? The one who reminded him of Lily?"

"Yes, that one. Harry didn't tell me what exactly Ron and Hermione fought about, but he said that it hurt Hermione's feelings greatly and she ended up locking herself in the girl's bathroom for hours, crying. When the troll came, Harry realised that Hermione would be in grave danger if she happened to find the troll on her own. So, dragging Ron with him, our boy decided that – "

" – he should take down the troll by himself," Dorcas finished, eyes wide in pure mortification.

Marlene grinned a little at the look on Dorcas face before she continued. "He didn't really say that, no. He said that he went to warn Hermione. But when Harry and Ron got to the girl's bathroom, he found that the bathroom was in ruins and that there was no Hermione in sight. They thought the troll had eaten her or something, so they rushed to try and find a teacher. Why they hadn't thought it sooner was beyond me."

"That's because he is a Marauder's son and raised by two Marauders," Dorcas replied with a fond grin. Both witches then shared a laugh.

"True… Anyway, as they were scouring around Hogwarts to find some help, they heard a bone-chilling scream when they got to the dungeons. They breathed in relief for a split second, happy that their friend wasn't eaten by the troll. But, they realised that the scream must meant that Hermione was in danger. So, they quickly went toward the source of the noise, where they sound the troll's loud roar and another one of Hermione's scream and also, another voice that belonged to someone they didn't know. They quickened their feet, fearing for the worst. They finally got to the dungeon, saw the troll waving stomping toward Hermione menacingly. But, she wasn't alone. There was – "

 _– There was someone else with Hermione, guys! There was a boy standing between Hermione and the troll, a first year from the looks of it, and he was trying all his might to fight off the troll himself. It took me and Ron awhile to realise that the boy was Malfoy! He was throwing off spells far advanced for a first year, and we all know the only reason I could tell what spells he used was because Sirius had taught me himself secretly when he thought Remus wasn't looking. I didn't waste another second; I quickly went to help Malfoy after I told Ron to take Hermione with him and run to find some help. Unfortunately, right at that moment, both Malfoy and I got a bit distracted because 1) I was talking to Ron and 2) the troll nearly crushed Hermione with his beater. It took its chance and grabbed me and Malfoy by the foot, dangling us upside down. In the end, it was Ron who defeated the troll after all. With Hermione's guide, he Levitated the beater out of the troll's hand, and let it dropped violently on its head._

 _I broke my ankle when the troll dropped me onto the ground before it fell unconscious, by the way._

 _That was when the teachers arrived. Everyone was there, even Dumbledore. And, boy, I'd never seen Professor McGonagall yelled that loud. I knew it was out of relief though, so I let her be. Much to our utmost surprise though, Hermione took all the blame when McGonagall was about to take points from us for being irresponsible, saying that she wanted to test out whether she could defeat a troll all by herself. A horrible lie, if you ask me, but McGonagall bought it. Then, still with a cross-look on her face, McGonagall awarded ten points for me and Ron and Malfoy, who was oddly silent the whole time McGonagall was screaming, avoiding Snape's stare because the greasy bat was staring at him with an intensity that could fry an egg. While McGonagall whisked me and Ron and Hermione to Hospital Wing, wholly convinced that we should stay for a week lest we were fatally injured, Snape merely led Draco wordlessly back to Slytherin Dungeon._

"Hold up…" Dorcas said after Marlene was done with her story. "Are you telling me that Lucius Malfoy's beloved _son_ was helping a _Muggle-born?"_

"Our boy was nearly killed and _that_ was the first thing that caught her attention?" Marlene remarked in amusement. Dorcas rolled her eyes in return.

"Harry was fine. McGonagall would have Owled us if anything happened to him… But, back to Malfoy. The little boy used _advanced_ magic meant for _sixth_ year to defeat a full-grown troll to _save_ a Muggle-born? That is insane!"

"I thought so too. I mean, if this happened to Lily and it was Lucius who found her first, he probably would have _lured_ the troll to eat her. And I'm pretty sure the boy was raised the same way Lucius was back when the bastard was – "

Marlene froze abruptly before doubling over in pain. Between her legs, she felt something wet and warm coating them.

"Oh my God…" Dorcas whispered, her own eyes were already set to the red patch on the bed. Jumping onto her feet, the petite witch instantly went on full Healer-mode and began to fuss over her best friend. "Marlene, we need to get you to St Mungo's now. Wait here and I'll get some help, okay?"

But Marlene wasn't listening. All she could think about was that she was going to lose her baby.

 _And she needed her Sirius to hold her._


	4. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 3

**NOTES:** I have decided that I will ignore most of the stuffs about the Marauders that Rowling revealed on Pottermore (Remus being _much_ taller than Sirius, Lyall Lupin being alive the whole time, etc). It's for the sake of the story, I assure you ;)

* * *

Sirius Black barely had enough strength to drag himself back home from the Auror office. If it hadn't been for the fact that he missed his woman greatly, he'd probably crash in one of the dorms at the office till next month. Both he and Remus were injured badly, but at least they returned with five Death Eaters with them, ready to be shipped off to Azkaban. Moody initially wanted him and Remus to spend a day or two at St Mungo's. But the Marauders really couldn't stand another second away from their partners, and when Moody weren't looking, the two quickly Apparated back home. Sirius was grateful that Remus wasn't injured as bad as he was that the werewolf could still help him to wobble around. He hadn't checked it yet, but Sirius was pretty sure that he completely busted his left leg, and there was something definitely wrong with the wound in his head because it kept on bleeding, even if it wasn't pouring profusely. It gave him killer-headache, but Sirius shrugged it away. He was hoping that he'd find his pregnant fiancée waiting for him in their room, ready to hex his balls off from worrying the crap out of her. Imagine the horror he felt when he saw there was no one home, and that there was a huge patch of blood on their bed. Almost instantly, Sirius felt really weak in the knees, he didn't realise he had dropped all of his weight on his best friend.

"Where is she, Moony?" Sirius whispered, trembling from top to toe. "Where is my Marlene?"

"We…we'll find him, Padfoot," Remus rasped, worrying about his wife as well because Dorcas was nowhere to be found too. "We'll get Moody to ready his men and find – "

As if some kind of higher power had heard them, Dorcas' Patronus flew into the room, catching them off guard. The silvery-white bear opened its mouth and said, "Sirius, I don't care where the heck you are right now, but you need to _come home._ There's some complication with Marlene's pregnancy, and we have to get the baby out now or we'll lose her _and_ Marlene. But your stubborn fiancée won't let us get the baby out if you're not with her. _So,_ _come home, Sirius."_

Sirius didn't hear what Remus said when he pushed the werewolf off him so he could Apparate to St Mungo's immediately. He didn't even feel the absolute pain coming from his busted leg when he put his weight on it. Everything he could think of was that he needed to get to his Marlene immediately or he'd lose her. When he got to St Mungo's, he practically screamed out to the poor receptionist, asking where his fiancée was. Once he got his answer, he ran as fast as he could to the direction the receptionist told him. He saw Dorcas and another Healer were talking in front of the door where he believed Marlene was, and he just slammed right into the room before Dorcas could say anything. His breath caught in his throat when he saw Marlene screaming on the bed, wearing the usual patient-gown, with five Healers surrounding her. He barely acknowledged Dorcas nudging him aside so she could start the birthing procedure because his eyes were drawn to Marlene's bloody legs.

 _There was so much blood…_

"…Sirius? Sirius, do you hear me? SIRIUS!" Dorcas yelled, snapping Sirius' off his thoughts. Whipping his head violent toward his best friend's wife, he found the petite Healer was glaring at him.

"Huh?" he stupidly said. It seemed like all the blood-lost from his head was making him dumb.

" _Go hold her hand, you bloody idiot!"_

"Oh, right!" Snapping back to his sense, all the while ignoring his screaming injuries, he headed toward Marlene and reached for her hand. He didn't flinch when Marlene broke his fingers; too busy trying to soothe the screaming witch.

 _She could break every bone in his body if she wanted to._

"Marlene, I'm here. I'm right here, my love. My sweet, sweet Marlene…" Sirius whispered into Marlene ears, using his free hand to stroke Marlene's damp hair. "Everything's going to be alright, Mar. I promise."

" _I need someone to take care of that blood!"_ Dorcas said, slightly panic as she realised the bleeding wasn't stopping and her best friend was getting weaker by the minute.

"Sirius…" Marlene gritted through her teeth, twisting her head around so she could look into her fiancé's beautiful mercurial eyes. "Sirius, I can't lose baby. I can't lose my baby…"

"You're not going to lose her, Mar. She's going to be alright. _You're_ going to be alright," Sirius said.

"She can't get the baby out by herself, Healer Lupin. She's too weak. She needs – "

 _"I bloody well know what she needs!"_ Dorcas snapped impatiently, her wand was getting rather slippery in her hand with Marlene's blood.

 _(I will not lose another friend. I will not lose another friend. I will not I will not I will not.)_

Sirius had no idea how long he had been standing there with one hand stroking Marlene's hair while the other was being gripped tightly in the witch's hand. It could be hours, or days – _he didn't know_. All he knew was that Marlene was losing _too much_ blood, and if Dorcas didn't get the baby out immediately or stop the bleeding, Sirius would lose Marlene. His left leg was killing him from the uncomfortable position he forced it to have from carrying his weight, and he felt the collar of his shirt got really wet because of the blood from his wounded head. But really, he didn't give a shit. If it meant that he could make sure Marlene was going to be alright, Sirius would very well try to hold on for _days_ with all his fatal injuries.

"Sirius?" Marlene whispered, barely audible because she had no energy left. The hold she had around Sirius' hand had weakened.

"Yes, my love?" the Pureblood said, giving Marlene a gentle kiss.

"Promise…promise me that if it comes down to choosing between…s-saving me or our baby, you _have_ to save her."

"Now, Marlene, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

" _Promise me, Sirius."_

Sirius looked at Marlene's brown eyes, finding them to be completely lucid for the first time since he got into the room. This must be the hardest thing he had to do. He couldn't _possibly_ choose between saving his wife or his child. He just couldn't.

"I- I… Marlene, I…"

An idea struck him. He knew what he had to do. He knew _exactly_ what he had to do. It was a dangerous bit of magic, very ancient too. But for Marlene, he'd do anything for her, even if he had to pay with his life. Marlene _was_ his life, so he would definitely do it. With renewed strength, he grabbed for his wand in his pocket, aimed it at Marlene's heart, and uttered the incantation of the ancient spell that would allow him to transfer all his strength to Marlene. The moment the last word of the spell left his lips, Sirius instantly felt his energy draining out of him and into Marlene, leaving him really weak and barely holding on. He vaguely heard someone screamed at him, but he couldn't tell who it was because he was slowly losing his consciousness.

The last thing he saw was before passing out was Dorcas pulling a small baby girl from between Marlene's legs.

 _And it wasn't moving._

* * *

 _"You're an idiot, Draco."_

His Godfather's words still rang in the young Malfoy's ears, even after almost three weeks. Severus Snape was rarely angry toward Draco. In all the years the boy knew the Potion Master, the older man never raised his voice at him. But, that day after he saved _her_ from getting trampled to death by the troll, that was the first time Snape was angry at him. He didn't yell at Draco; no he didn't. He merely stared at the blonde long and hard until Draco squirmed, before he said those words to him. Draco knew he shouldn't have come to talk to _her_ again after he made it clear to her that he wanted nothing to do with her on that first day after she sought him out during lunch break. But he saw that _idiot_ Weasle made her cry, and for some reasons, Draco had this urge to check whether she was doing alright or not; whether she needed him to hex Weasle-bee or not. He was sorely disappointed with _himself_ when he, instead of comforting her, _insulted_ the poor girl. He called her many names ( _though many times he caught himself nearly saying_ that _word),_ and she gave a good fight. After awhile, she snapped and yelled back at him, calling him all sort of insults that he wasn't really familiar with but he was sure were Muggle-related. He didn't know how long the both of them were yelling at each other when he felt the ground shook and a loud roar was heard.

"What are you thinking so hard about, Malfoy?" Theodore Nott said as the blue-eyed boy threw himself beside Draco on the leather-couch in the common room.

"Huh…? Oh, I was just reviewing today's Transfiguration lesson," Draco said casually, mentally shrugging all thoughts regarding _her._

 _("Don't make the same mistakes I made, Draco.")_

Theo shook his head in amazement, clicking his tongue in his mouth. "Dear Merlin, Draco… We just had _dinner_ and you were sitting here, ignoring everyone else, _reviewing bloody Transfiguration?"_

"Hey, how else am I going to beat the Muggle-born's scores?" Draco said, a bit offended. Yes, he lied to Theo about him reviewing Transfiguration, but he _did_ like to review about his lessons. There was a reason why he could fight off the trolls all on his own before Potter came after all.

"You and your fixation on her," Theo sighed, rolling his eyes. "I swear, if I didn't know you since we were both babies, I'd have thought you had a crush on her or something."

 _("We Slytherins don't do feelings, boy. Feelings are for the fools.")_

"For someone who got third rank in most of our classes, you are rather stupid sometimes, Nott," Draco remarked dryly. Heaving deeply, he reached for a silver-enveloped letter on the coffee desk in front of him and stood up. "Anyway, I bid you _adieu,_ Theo. Snape wants to see me."

"Say hi to the git for me," Theo said, grinning mischievously. Draco rolled his eyes but said nothing else. He waved goodbye at his oldest friend, and quickly went to Snape's office.

When he got to the front door of the Potion Master's office, Draco didn't enter immediately. He waited until he was sure that Snape wasn't in his office anymore, and only then he went inside, careful not to touch anything lest Snape had put some kind of alarms on his things that would alert him of intruders. He looked at the letter in his hand, which he nicked from _right_ under McGonagall's nose during her class when the woman was too busy yelling at Finnegan who managed to blow his text book for the third time that week. Draco knew that if he did this, Snape would _definitely_ kill him if he found out. And if his parents knew about it? Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy loved their son very much, but they weren't above punishing the boy if Draco did something really horrible. But the young Malfoy was a curious child, and at the moment, the letter in his hand was really bugging him out. Knowing that he'd regret it terribly, he pocketed the letter, grabbed a pinch of the Floo-powder before stepping into Snape's fireplace. A thrill went down his spine, his adrenaline was causing his heart to beat really fast. Taking a deep breath, he braced himself and said –

" _St Mungo's!"_

Draco nearly tripped when he landed, but he was quick enough to catch himself from doing so. He stepped out of the fireplace, feeling a bit self-conscious being amongst all those people. Being the Heir to the second oldest Pureblood family in Britain, Draco rarely went anywhere without his parents' company, or at least a House-Elf by his side. He sort of expected one of these Healers would notice him and would interrogate him, asking questions he knew he wouldn't be able to make a quick lie about. Lucky for him though, those Healers were too busy to pay him their attention, bustling around taking care of other patients. Breathing a sigh of relief, Draco made his way to room that was mentioned in the blue letter he had in his pocket. He barely had enough time to hide behind a wall when a man with a cane and thick-bandages wrapped around his headcame out from the room the silver-letter mentioned, looking positively livid. Behind him, there was McGonagall and Snape, and also another man who immediately took his stand beside the first man. It didn't take Draco long to figure out who these two men were, seeing that his parents always scowled in indignation every time their pictures were on the Daily Prophet for capturing another Death Eater.

 _Sirius Black and Remus Lupin._

"…She was poisoned _, Snivellus!_ " Black yelled, ignoring the reprimanding looks he got from McGonagall and the Healers around him. "You _promised_ that you would look after my fiancée and Remus' wife during our absence whenever we're on a mission."

"I can't possibly be teaching at _Hogwarts_ and look after your woman at _Black Manor,_ you know _._ In case your ability to count is as poor as your ability to choose your friends wisely, both places are almost _nine-hundred_ kilometers apart," Snap drawled monotonously, which caused Black's anger to escalate extremely.

" _Why, you – "_

"Sirius, shut up," Lupin said quietly but firmly. The handsome Pureblood glared at his best friend, looking like he wanted to argue, but he finally relented. Draco was now under the impression that his mother's cousin was weirdly docile toward Lupin.

After he was sure his best friend wouldn't kill Snape, Lupin turned to McGonagall and said, "Will you Dumbledore that Sirius wouldn't be able to attend the next few meetings? I mean, just look at _him."_

"I'm perfectly _fine,_ Moony," Black grumbled, rolling his eyes as he carefully shifted his weight.

McGonagall, who had been silent the whole time, merely scoffed. "Mr Black, you should listen to your best friend. Mrs Lupin told me everything, and you were _lucky_ that Mr Lupin was around to take your place and helped Miss McKinnon. I mean, _what were you thinking?_ You were well aware that transferring your spell to a person who was _dying_ would kill you as well. We were very fortunate that Mr Lupin's _condition_ allowed him to do the spell to help Miss McKinnon, your baby, _and_ yourself."

"You do know that I am _not_ listening, right?" Black said, purposely sticking his fingers into his ears like a stubborn child.

"And you do know that I _don't_ care," McGonagall snapped right back. Rolling her eyes discreetly, she said to Lupin, "And yes, I'll tell him. I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind. But I think the same goes for you too, Mr Lupin. You go take some time to heal yourself."

"No, I don't think – "

"Remus, shut up," Black said with an evil grin, mimicking Lupin's tone. The other wizard scowled.

"McGonagall is right, Lupin," Snape said, attracting his company's attention once more. "I think it'll be better if you have some rest until you're perfectly healed. We can't have you dropping unconscious during an Order meeting now, can we?"

"See? Even _Snivellus_ agrees," Black said petulantly. From where he hid, Draco saw Snape clenched his jaw in annoyance.

"Anyway… It's nice to watch you and Lupin bicker like an old married couple, Black. But, unlike _you,_ I have important roles to keep uphold or else _someone_ would find out. I have to go back to Hogwarts. Minerva, I suggest the same for you."

Draco didn't see whether McGonagall nodded to Snape's suggestion or not. He had hurried off back toward the elevator so he could get to the fireplace before Snape did. But, before the elevator door closed, Draco could still hear Snape last words.

"And oh, Black? I'd pay Lucius Malfoy a _visit_ if I were you, regarding… _poison apples_."


	5. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 4

**NOTES:** One quick question guys; should I be Rowling-cruel or not? And by Rowling-cruel, I was talking about _killing the characters we all love._ Yes, I am still a big grumpy after all these years. Anyway, on with the story and tell me what's your decision okay ;)

* * *

"I brought chocolate cake from your favourite bakery."

"I don't care."

"How long will it take till you finally forgive me?"

"Till I feel like it, which is still unclear. Now give me the cake."

"I thought you weren't going to forgive me."

"You thought correctly. But I _am_ hungry _,_ so give me the _goddam cake, Lupin."_

Remus Lupin sighed heavily and went toward his scowling wife, passing the box of cake when he finally reached Dorcas, who took it wordlessly. They were in their room at Black Manor, feeling completely awkward being the only inhabitants of the huge house, what with Marlene still being cared for at St Mungo's and Sirius simply refusing to leave her side, as well as demanded that he would be there to watch over his newborn daughter. The werewolf watched the petite witch ate her cake silently, letting small moans as she slowly devoured the whole content of the box. He debated on whether he should take a seat on the bed beside Dorcas, afraid that the close proximity would make Dorcas lash out, which would definitely lead to her kicking him out of their room. In the end, he knew it would be wiser if he dragged a chair for himself, so he did. They were silent for what seemed like hours. It had been almost a month since the birth of Payne Janis Black, a few days before Harry's arrival for his Christmas holiday. Everyone had recovered rather well, but Dorcas _still_ refused to talk to Remus after everything.

"I'm sorry," Remus said slowly, reaching out to put his hand on Dorcas' thigh. The Healer purposely shifted to her side so Remus' hand fell to his side. Letting out another sigh, Remus said, "Dorcas, I said _I'm sorry."_

"I heard you," Dorcas snapped, but there was a blissful look on her face as she licked the chocolate from her fingers, causing something to stir within Remus.

 _("You naughty boy, Moony," Remus' conscience said in a voice that reminded him greatly of Sirius.)_

"Dorcas please," Remus tried again. "How many times should I apologise until you'll finally forgive me? It's been a month, Doe."

"And we all know that you haven't learned your lesson. So, no, I'm not having – _get_ _your hands off me, Remus John Lupin!"_

Remus had finally lost his patience ( _which was almost unlikely)_ and grabbed Dorcas' face gently so she would finally look at him. The brunette witch glared at her husband, fighting with all her might to push him off her. But Remus stayed put, and was even inching closer. He knew he'd hurt his Dorcas, knew that she was the best thing that he ever had and he couldn't afford to lose her. So, when he noticed the tears started to well up her beautiful blue eyes, Remus pulled her into his arms and hugged her. At first, she kept on fighting against his arms, sinking her much smaller fists into his chest as she screamed at him to release her. Awhile later though, she relented and collapsed weakly into her husband, crying the tears that she had tried to keep at bay for weeks. Remus flinched, but not from the punches Dorcas threw at him. It was because of her tears, and the knowledge that _he_ was the reason she cried. Remus Lupin always prided himself on being a gentleman when it came to treating his woman, but here he was, making Dorcas cried harder than that time Sirius intentionally cheated on Marlene in their sixth year when he thought he couldn't make Marlene happy what with him being disowned and hadn't a single Knut to his name.

"Why did you have to do it, Remus?" Dorcas said in a small voice, a bit muffled against Remus' chest.

"Because he's my best friend," Remus said almost instantly as he gently stroked Dorcas' hair. "He's the _only_ friend I've got left, Doe. And I couldn't just stand there, knowing that he'd done something foolish again that could kill him."

" _So do I, Remus!"_ Dorcas exclaimed, finally pushing her face off Remus' chest. "Do you have _any_ idea what you put me through when you took over Sirius' spell and transferred your energy to Marlene? You heard what McGonagall said; it was only _luck_ that the wolf in you had enough to spare for you as well."

Remus closed his eyes and swallowed heavily, remembering everything that happened during the birth of little Payne. When Sirius Disapparated away before Remus could stop him, the werewolf wasted no time and went after his best friend. He arrived right on time to see Sirius and Dorcas marched into the room Remus presumed was where they kept Marlene. Knowing that it would be futile if he nosed his way in, he decided that he'd wait outside until someone ( _preferably his wife)_ came out and told him that everything was alright. But, after three hours, no one came out and Marlene's loud screams went weaker and weaker. His heart clenched in fear for his best friend ( _his brother_ ), fearing for Sirius' mental health if the worst was to come. He contemplated on saying a prayer to that Muggle deity his mother worshiped so much, and was barely managing to say the first few words, when he heard Dorcas yelling Sirius' name. He knew right away that his friend was doing something remarkably stupid ( _"Because that's arguably his middle name, Remy," James had said long,_ long _time ago)._ He then barged into the room, kicking the doors down with the combined-strength from the beast inside him, and found Sirius slowly dropping to his knees, his extended hand was holding his wand, pointing at Marlene. Remus barely had enough time to catch Sirius before he fell and hit his head against the floor. His fingers went to check Sirius' pulse, and he swallowed heavily when he felt how weak it was. Right at that moment, Remus knew _exactly_ what he had to do. So, before Dorcas could stop him, he transferred his strength to Sirius _and_ Marlene, determination prevented him from thinking thoroughly about the risks he was endangering himself with. He didn't know how long he did the spell. But it was like when he blinked for a split second, the next thing he knew he was lying in the hospital bed, feeling like horses just did a Muggle salsa dance in his head. Later, Remus found out that the only reason he could survive from transferring his energy to _two_ people was because of the wolf in him.

For the first time in his life, Remus was thankful for his _fury little problem._

"I always know that Sirius _always_ comes first before me," Dorcas in a small voice, tears still pouring down her beautiful face. "I always know that to you, your best friend is more important than me."

"Dorcas, no – "

" – but it still _hurts_ whenever I see how you'd sacrifice yourself for him; that you would lay down your life for him, even though you knew you'd be leaving me."

"It's not like that – "

"Remus, shut it. I'm _tired._ I'm going to bed and if you do too, I'm putting a barrier between my side of the bed and your side. Let's just talk about this tomorrow."

But Remus had enough of waiting.

If Dorcas _really_ wanted to talk, they'd talk now.

"I want us to talk now," Remus said in the tone he used that one time he got _so angry_ with Sirius because of the whole thing with Snape. "I don't care if you don't want to listen, but I'll only say this once. Dorcas, _I love you._ I need you to know that and understand that. And yes, I was an idiot when I sacrificed myself for Sirius, even when I had you. But you have to understand that before you, it had always been me and Sirius, and James when he was still alive but that was then. Sirius isn't just my best friend, he's my _brother._ I _love_ him too, Dorcas, though not in the romantic way I love you. What Sirius and I have is…something else, but just as powerful too. So, when it comes to saving Sirius from whatever idiocy he gets himself into, sometimes I just react automatically. The git, just like James did back then, awakens the martyr in everyone."

"Yes, but – "

 _"I'm not done, Dorcas."_

The Healer glared at her husband and said, "Fine. Whatever."

Remus flashed her a small smile of amusement, to which Dorcas returned with a colder glare. Rolling his eyes at his wife's childishness, Remus continued. "I understand that you're angry right now at me. I realise I would too if I were you. But know this, Dorcas; remember what I said when I proposed you in front of _everyone_ during the Order meeting? When you finally came back home after a three-months mission with Emmeline? I told you that – "

 _"You are my life, Dorcas Meadowes. Without you, I'm as good as dead. I need you in my life more than what is healthy because you're_ my _Dorcas. They say I'm a good person, maybe I am. But I am_ not _selfless when it comes to you. You're the reason I wake up every morning after my transformation, when all I want is to bury myself because I can't stand living with the beast any longer. You're the reason I'm fighting this War, when all I want is to whisk you away and hide in the Arctic. You're the reason I'm kneeling here, in front of you, saying all this sappy stuffs even though I knew my best friends would laugh at me till the end of time. Dorcas, you're_ it _for me, okay? Before you, I thought I'd die alone in this world, bitter and slowly becoming evil because of the beast. But now, with you in my life, living doesn't seem so bad anymore because somehow, I got lucky and have you to make sure I'm still alive and breathing. So, if it's not much of a bother, will you have me, Dorcas? Will you, as corny as this sound, make me the happiest_ werewolf _alive, and marry me? Because, my love, you are my – "_

 _"_ 'You _are_ my life'," Dorcas finished before Remus did, whispering those four words softly it felt like a mother's loving caress. Remus' felt hope fluttered in his chest when Dorcas reached for his hand and squeezed it firmly in her hand.

"I love you, Dorcas," Remus said, inching closer toward Dorcas until their lips were barely an inch apart from each other.

"Again," Dorcas said, closing her eyes as a blissful smile took over her face. "Say it again, Remus."

"I love you, Dorcas. I love you, I love you, I love you, _I love you."_

"And I you, Remus. I love you too, _my_ werewolf."

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I was an idiot, I know. A total bonafide _idiot._ "

"I know. And I'm sorry too because it took me this long to forgive you."

"It's okay…" Remus felt Dorcas' lips against his own, and that was when _it_ hit him. Pushing Dorcas gently, he said, "Dorcas, wait. I… I want to talk about something."

Genuine bafflement crossed Dorcas' face, but she complied. "Oh, okay… What is it?"

"This whole thing of us fighting and our friends nearly dying made me realise that…that we're _so alone_ in this world. A-and I… And I've decided that I'm ready."

Dorcas' eyes went wide in epic proportion it would have been funny for Remus if it wasn't for the fact of how serious ( _hah!)_ he was at the moment. He heard her breath hitched a little when she said, "Y-you're… You're ready for what?"

"I… I am…" Remus coughed, all the emotion was clogging up his windpipe. But, once he was done retching and gagging ( _way to ruin the moment, Moony),_ he actually felt lighter. He took both of Marlene's hands and smiled with all the love he could muster as he said those words he knew Dorcas had been waiting for _a long time._

"Dorcas, I'm ready to have a family with you. Our _own_ family."

* * *

Payne Janis Black was born on November eleventh, eight days after her father's birthday. She was a tad smaller than most newborn babies were, but then again, she was a little early than what was scheduled and she nearly _died_ because of poisoning _._ Most of the Healers thought that she had little chance to survive. But when her Godmother Dorcas Lupin put her in her father's arms, who barely recovered from the loss of strength and the injuries he suffered from his mission, Payne opened her eyes and began to cry, her small but chubby hands punched Sirius Black's nose, to which prompted the Auror's small chuckle. When Sirius told his best friend about what he was going to name his daughter, Remus thought he was crazy to condemn the little baby with the same fate as Sirius suffered his whole life ( _"The endless puns, Sirius. I am now seriously tempted to steal the child away," Remus had said as he face-palmed)_. But after Sirius explained that her name came from the fact that after hours of absolute _pain_ Marlene had gone through, a miracle still happened in the form of little Payne, who was seven pounds and twenty inches long, Remus relented. Her middle name came from the legendary singer Janis Joplin who was Sirius' and Lily's favourite. Originally, Sirius wanted to give the baby Lily's name. But he decided that Harry would probably want to name his _own_ kid in the future after his courageous and beloved parents.

Little Payne was _really_ beautiful like her parents were, thought it could be said that she looked more like Sirius than she was like Marlene. She had Sirius' uncanny silver-grey eyes, also his aristocratic nose and cheekbones, something all Blacks seemed to inherit. But she had her mother's lips and chin, and softer features that fit her feminine face. Her black hair was like that of her parents', thought it was a shade lighter like Marlene's hair was, looking a little brownish under the light, while Sirius' hair was so dark it looked almost purple. When Harry Potter was first introduced to the baby once he got home for his Christmas holiday, he was ecstatic. Harry had always wanted to have a little brother or sister to dote on, and he was extremely envious of Ron who had _tons_ of them. But now, after nearly two weeks, as Harry's own forest-green eyes stared right into Payne's silver-grey eyes, he wasn't so ecstatic anymore at the prospect of having a sister.

"May I play Exploding Snaps in the living room?"

"I don't think so, dear. I have some of Payne's stuffs there and I don't them to get messy."

"I promised to meet Hermione in Muggle London. Can you take me there?"

"Dunno, Fawn. It's near Payne's lunch time now. Why don't you ask Moony?"

"I don't understand this. Can you help me with my DADA homework?"

"I'm a little a bit busy watching Payne so she wouldn't swallow anything. Maybe Mar – "

"Sorry, sweetheart. I'm making Payne's food right now."

"Will you play Quidditch with me after breakfast? Just for an hour, I promise."

"Alright, but I need to bathe Payne first, okay? The little monster is a little stinky."

 _(Harry waited for nearly two hours for Sirius to come and play with him. And when he was finally resigned to the fact that Sirius wasn't coming, he came back into the house with his Quidditch stuffs and his broom._

 _Sirius didn't even realise what he had forgotten.)_

Harry knew he wasn't being fair. He knew how Marlene secretly wanted to have a baby just as much as Dorcas did, the only difference was that Marlene had managed to convince herself that a baby in the midst of War wouldn't be appropriate. Harry himself had even supported her when they first found out that she was with a child, saying that he would look after the baby if Sirius and Marlene weren't able too. He was aware that even _Sirius_ wanted to have a child as well. He didn't need anyone to tell him about it because Harry, unlike his father was but _just_ like his mother, was very perceptive. He was also very mature compared to most his kids his age, what with him being an orphan and grew up in such difficult circumstances. But Harry was, after all, only a _child_ himself. That was the fact that his Godparents seemed to always forget. Thus, for him to be a bit jealous of Payne who was showered with endless affection from her parents, that was very normal indeed. Harry rarely over-mourned the death of his parents ( _"How could I mourn someone who I never met?" the boy had once asked his werewolf Godfather.),_ but when he saw how Sirius nuzzled his nose into Payne's onesie-clad belly, or how Marlene read her little girl stories despite the fact that the kid wasn't going to understand a thing, that was when Harry missed his parents _so much._ He couldn't help but to wonder whether his parents ever did the same thing back when they were alive.

"You're lucky, you know," Harry said to Payne as he lay on his front beside the baby in the living-room, one hand toying mindlessly with the short-strands of Payne's hair. "You're lucky that you have your parents with you, even though the War is still going on around us."

As if she understood him, Payne took her eyes off her little toes and turned to look at Harry. She began to babble, and it sounded like she was saying, " _What do you mean I'm lucky?"_

Maybe Harry was an idiot for thinking that Payne might have tried to communicate with him with her baby-language. But Harry kept on talking anyway. "Yeah, well, I was born when the War was raging on too. I mean, it _was_ worse than right now, but my parents were very much involved like yours too. But then, I lost my parents. _That's_ why you're lucky."

 _"But I thought you loved my parents and Uncle Rems and Auntie Doe."_

"I do. Really, I love them and I'm forever grateful that they took me in as their own. But, I wish I had my own parents to raise me up. I wish I grew up with my own father teaching me Quidditch instead of my Godfathers. I wish my own mother was there to make me my favourite meal instead of my Godmothers. I know that I had it better than Neville, but still…" Harry sighed heavily, feeling much older than he actually was.

He felt Payne's hand grabbed his ear, as if to tell him to look at her because she had something important to say. Humouring both himself and little Payne, Harry obliged. Payne had lifted her head slightly, tilting it to the side and babbled in her baby-language, which Harry translated to, " _Do you hate me then, Harry? Do you hate me for taking away Mum and Dad from you?"_

Harry gave a small smile to the baby, knowing already, without doubt, of the answer he'd give. He pushed himself off the floor a little bit with his elbows, and craned his neck so he could kiss Payne's chubby cheeks. "Of course not, Little P. Of course not."

 _("I feel like you're forgetting me because of your newborn baby, Prongs. And I know, I know that I'm being childish. But it's been you and me all this time. It's_ always _been Padfoot and Prongs.")_

 _("And that's never going to change, I promise you. It's always going to be Padfoot and Prongs till the end of time. We just have a new member now, is all.")_


	6. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 5

**NOTES:** This chapter is only in Ron's POV. It got a little too long and I decided that if I added another POV, the chapter would be too long and (maybe) a bit boring. Besides, it'd take more time to finish it and I didn't want to make you guys wait too long. So, here's chapter five!

* * *

Ron Weasley always thought little of himself. He was the spare-son of the _spare-sons_ in his family. He was none too bright like his brother Bill or Percy, nor was he dazzling like Charlie or the twins Fred and George. His mother, who always wanted a daughter, had always showed a little too much affection toward his younger sister Ginny. The first few years of his life, before he went to Hogwarts, he spent it trying all his might to best his siblings. He tried to be the better son. He studied harder when his parents weren't looking, sneaking to play Quidditch when his brothers were too busy minding their own business, and even sparing sometime to do the meticulous job of primping himself every morning so he would look presentable. He was reaching the point of desperation that _no one_ in his family took notice of his hard work, when he found out the one thing that he was _much_ better than anyone in his family was.

It was chess _,_ and Ronald was a _brilliant_ chess-player.

And at the moment, his bishop was murdering Harry Potter's king – _literally_.

"Checkmate," Ron declared with a smirk. "And that marks the _third_ time in four hours, Potter."

It was a week after New Year, and just a few days till school started again. Harry had managed to convince his Godparents (read: Godmothers) that he would be a good boy for the rest of the year if they'd let Ron to come and spend the rest of the holiday with them. The adults agreed without further coaxing, wordlessly admitting to themselves that Harry needed a friend after living an almost-isolated life before he received his Hogwarts letter.

"Ugh," Harry groaned. "How in the _world_ did you manage that? I haven't been beaten in chess for _two years,_ except for Sirius because he is abnormally good when it comes to chess."

"Huh," Ron said, tilting his head to his side a bit. He opened his mouth but quickly closed it again, his ears flushed red. It caught Harry's attention.

"What's wrong?"

Ron shook his head. "It's…nothing."

Harry cocked an eye brow. "No, it's definitely something. I've known you for quite some time now for me to understand that when your ear flushes red, that means you're embarrassed about something. So, spit out, Weasley."

Ron gulped, his blue eyes flirted toward the door where he was well aware where a certain Black was reading bedtime stories for his daughter. The redhead contemplated on lying, but he was a rotten liar. He had no choice but to tell his friend ( _best friend?)_ the truth. "Well uh… You said Sirius was very good at chess. I couldn't help but to wonder whether – "

"Whether he'd play with your or not so you can find out who's better?" Harry finished for him, grinning. When Ron nodded his head shyly, he was caught off guard when his green-eyed friend laughed evilly.

"Why are you laughing?" Ron asked, looking a bit scared when Harry only laughed harder. "You're not secretly mentally disturbed…right?"

"I'm perfectly sane, Ron," Harry chuckled, finally his laughter stopped though he was still grinning. "I just thought that it'd be a brilliant idea. I mean, Sirius has always bragged about him being the _best_ chess-player in the bloody _universe._ Just imagine the look on his face if you actually beat him…"

Then, as if there was a switch, Harry's smile dropped from his face, replaced by a forlorn look on his face. It worried Ron, so being the good friend he was, he asked the other boy. "Harry? You okay?"

"I'm fine," Harry quickly replied, giving a very convincing lie. But Ron Weasley, even though he sucked at lying, he was actually very good at detecting one.

"Mate, you know you can trust me, right? You can tell me whatever it is bothering your mind and I promise I won't tell anyone."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his eternally-messy hair. "You know Sirius' daughter was just born, right? And I swear, at first, I was really looking forward for her arrival. I even helped the couple to decorate her room. But when she's finally here…"

"You're not so excited anymore," Ron supplied, giving an understanding smile. "I know what you're talking about, Harry. Heck, I've got _six_ siblings back at home who constantly make me crazy."

"It's not really that, Ron. I…I was jealous of Payne. I _am_ jealous of her. I mean, I don't mean to be insensitive or vain or anything, but you should know that for years, it's always been _me._ I've always been the center of attention. And I don't mean it in a Malfoy-attention-seeking way. What I really meant was – " Harry groaned in frustration, burying his face in his hands. It took him sometime to continue. "What I meant was, I _miss_ their attention. I miss how Sirius would spend hours playing Quidditch with me, even when he was busy with Auror missions or Sacred Council meetings or the Ord- other things. And I miss how Marlene would take me to the kitchen and how we'd cook dinner together with Dorcas. Sure, I still have Remus and Dorcas. But for how long? I heard they're trying to have their own baby. And when they all have their own kids to take care of, where would I be?"

Ron had no idea what he had to say to Harry's confession. He thought having six siblings and almost non-existent attention from his parents were bad. But now, after he listened to Harry, he realised that he wasn't that unlucky after all. At least, even if he had _twenty_ other siblings, Ron wouldn't have to worry about whether he'd be casted aside when there were other babies. Harry had it hard. Being adopted, he would forever fear the time when his Godparents got sick of him and wouldn't want him anymore.

"Well, Harry," Ron finally said. "I'm sure your Godparents wouldn't be _that_ cruel to you. But, if they ever did, just remember that you have me, okay? And Hermione too, I suppose."

The redhead _swore_ he saw tears welling up Harry's green eyes. But when he tried to have a better look, Harry's eyes were free of tears, though they looked rather shiny. "Thanks, Ron. I really, _really_ appreciate it. "

Ron grinned and was about to say something when he saw Harry froze at the sound of a loud chime. His eyes went wide as he looked around wildly around the room. Ron was just about to ask what was wrong when Harry pulled a thin piece of fabric from out of nowhere; an Invisibility Cloak. Harry was given the cloak from an anonymous sender, and when he showed the Cloak to Sirius and Remus, the two nearly had a heart attack. They explained that the Cloak used to belong to James, and they thought that the Cloak was lost when James died. Both Marauders said that they suspected the Cloak was with Dumbledore all along, because Sirius recalled in a letter from Lily saying that James was going to show it to the old professor. When Harry showed Ron the Cloak, who promised he wouldn't tell anyone about it, Ron was mesmerized. Being a Pureblood, he grew up with stories of the Cloak, and how a lot of people were obsessed about it. So, when Harry beckoned him to go under the Cloak with him, Ron was having conflicted feelings about it. Part of him wanted to see how could it'd be to have the Cloak around him, another part of him was scared that Harry was up to something not good. Ron was told by Marlene that even though most of the time Harry showed his Remus-side to the whole world, there were times when his Sirius-side ( _hah!)_ would pop, especially when he was feeling particularly mischievous.

In the end, Ron's curiosity won.

"Fine," Ron said. "But if we get caught, I'm blaming all of this on you."

They were just going to get under the Cloak when Dorcas came into the living room, a familiar blonde boy following behind her. Upon the look Dorcas gave him, Harry quickly hid the Cloak under his shirt, creating a huge bump on his front. Ron mentally face-palmed at his friend's stupid move when he caught the blonde boy's eye following Harry's hand. Once she was standing in front of Harry, she said, "Boys, you know this is Draco Malfoy. He's here with his father. And I know you two have the same _stupid_ house-rivalry all Gryffindor and Slytherin have through the years, but I expect you to put that aside and behave, okay? Draco, I expect the same from you."

"Yes, Mrs Lupin," Malfoy muttered, looking at anywhere but the two boys in front of him. Dorcas nodded her head, a small smile appeared on her face.

"Awesome. Now, I'll be with Marlene and Payne, okay? Remus is in there with Sirius. You know the drill, Harry Potter; you may _not_ come in there."

"Of course, Doe," Harry said with a huge smile. Dorcas gave another smile, along with a hand through Harry's messy-hair, before she headed to Payne's nursery, where the little baby and her mother were waiting for the petite Healer.

Leaving the three boys alone.

Ron eyed the young Malfoy, or more like _glared_ at him. He knew how Malfoy's father often made fun of Ron's own father in front of other Ministry officials about his love toward Muggle-related stuffs. Arthur Weasley was well-known for his interest in the Muggle world, especially the technology. Most people never really thought about it, but because of Lucius Malfoy's rather big influence on everyone in the Ministry including the Prime Minister himself, Arthur was looked down on by almost all officials. But Ron silently admired the composure Malfoy had as he stared right back at Ron, a mask of indifference on his face. Harry was quick enough to distract Ron's attention when he felt the tension between the two boys.

"Ron, do you still want us to do it?" Harry asked.

"What about him?" Ron said, nodding his head at Malfoy's direction.

Harry turned to look at Malfoy, who shifted his attention from Ron to Harry. Cocking an eye brow, Harry said, "You know what your father is doing in there, right?"

"Yes," Malfoy drawled, scowling a bit at Harry's tone. "Father was taking me… _somewhere_ when your Godfather's Patronus came and summoned him for a meeting immediately. He had no choice but to take me with him because Auror Black insisted there could be no delay."

When Harry had a contemplative look on his face, Ron realised that Harry was _seriously_ considering on taking Draco with them to spy on the _so-called_ meeting. If it was up to Ron, he'd probably hit Malfoy in the face until he fell unconscious before locking the insufferable prat in a broom cupboard lest he'd follow them. But Harry was raised rather differently than Ron did. He was raised by two Aurors, whose every move was always calculated and had a certain purpose. From the few months Ron were friends with Harry, he noticed that Harry never did anything if he knew that he'd benefit nothing from it. Ron didn't need to read Harry's mind to know what exactly his friend wanted from Malfoy. Ever since the whole thing with the troll during Halloween, the two boys had accepted Hermione to be a permanent figure in their friendship. Being the good friends that they were, Ron and Harry felt entitled to know _why_ Malfoy saved Hermione.

"What if I tell you that I can take us to eavesdrop on the meeting if you'll tell me why you were with Hermione when the troll came?" Harry said.

The look on Malfoy's face was hard to read as he looked at Harry with a slight frown. Ron could almost see the battle waging inside the blonde, trying to decide whether spilling his secrets to his _enemies_ was worth it for a chance to eavesdrop on an exclusive meeting the Council had. The redhead thought Malfoy would say no to Harry's offer, when suddenly, the ever-present mask of nonchalance dropped from that pale and pointy face as Malfoy ran a hand through his sleek and pushed-back hair, a tired sigh escaped his lips and only then that Ron noticed the gaunt boy looked even _more_ gaunt than the last time he was him back at school.

"Truthfully, Potter? I _don't_ know why I helped Granger. Hell, I didn't even know why I went to find her when I heard ginger boy over there made her cry. I just…" Malfoy trailed off, looking lost. Both Gryffindors shared a look with each other before coming with the same conclusion.

 _Malfoy had a thing for Hermione._

When Ron first met the brunette bookworm, it'd be a lie to say if he didn't find her interesting. All his life, he'd never met a Muggle-born before. Sure, his parents taught him that there was no such thing as blood purity. But growing all his life secluded from other people, who had no idea that magic existed, Ron couldn't help himself when he found himself intrigued. Here was a girl who had no idea that she was special up until she had her letter, a girl who looked at him, the invincible Ron Weasley, with a look people reserved for their idols and such. It would be a lie if Ron said that he didn't think her a _bit_ attractive.

"Potter, Weasley," Malfoy's said suddenly, sounding determined. "I can't tell you why I saved Granger because _I_ don't know too. But believe me when I say that I _know_ why Auror Black called for a meeting tonight."

It was obvious what Harry and Ron decided upon hearing Malfoy's words.

Long story short, the three boys slid under the Cloak and hastily went toward the room where the Council meeting was held, carefully entering the room lest anyone would find out. The room was still considerately empty, with Sirius and Remus being the only ones present. Both of them were wearing the finest dress-robes Ron had ever seen in his life. Sirius was even wearing a fur-coat over his shoulders, looking every bit like a prestigious Pureblood would. Their eyes widened in absolute horror when they saw Remus frowned at the opened hidden door in the corner of the room behind a shelf by the fireplace when they came in. Harry decided that it would be safer if they got in from the secret passage Harry found connecting the meeting room and Harry's own room, the same door he had used to sneak into the meeting since he was seven, after he was sure that none of his Godparents had any idea of the secret passage. They breathed in relief when Remus' attention was distracted the moment the door to the room was opened, and twenty-six people came in, all dressed up in fancy clothes too. It was obvious to Ron that his companions knew everyone who came, seeing that Harry had probably snuck into this meeting a lot of times in the past, and Malfoy being who he was reason enough. But Ron only knew a few of those people. There was his own father, Arthur Weasley, wearing the best robes Ron had ever seen him wearing. Ron's mother was also there, going as a representative of the Prewett family since her brothers' deaths. There was also Augusta Longbottom, taking over her son's place since Frank Longbottom fell _mysteriously_ ill years ago. There were other people who Ron supposed he'd seen when he came with his father to the Ministry, but he really had no idea who most of them were. The person that attracted Ron's attention the most was Lucius Malfoy, who casually went to the seat on Sirius' left.

"Welcome, my fellow Sacreds," Sirius said in a voice Ron had never heard during his stay in the Black Manor. It sounded cold and calculated. He took off his coat and draped it over his seat before lowering himself down on it while Remus slid onto the last empty chair on Sirius' right. It was only when the handsome Auror was seated than everyone else took their seats as well.

"According to the Old Rules, other members aren't allowed to sit until the Head Council has taken his seat," Malfoy whispered. "And since it was first established, a member of the Black family was _always_ the Head Council, what with them being the _noble and most ancient_ family in all of Britain. So, you can say that until a representative of the Black family is finally sitting down, no one is allowed to sit."

"Do shut up, Malfoy," Harry snapped in a hiss. "If you keep talking, they're going to find out that we're here eavesdropping."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Besides, it's _scary_ how you went completely Hermione, going all book-smart and explaining the details about the Sacreds to us."

Malfoy glared at Ron. "Well, unlike you Weasley, I _am_ smart."

"You bloody – "

"Shut up, you two!" Harry reminded, pointing at a dark-skinned man who stared _right_ at where they were. The three boys held their breaths, afraid that the smallest sound would alert the man. It was very fortunate of them to have Sirius speaking again because the man had no choice but to avert his attention back to Sirius.

"I thank you all for being here," Sirius said, his normally-expressive face was impassive. "I know that this is an unscheduled meeting, but there are some _important_ matters that need to be addressed as soon as possible."

Sirius was about to continue when a man, who bore striking resemblance to Malfoy's best friend Theodore Nott, opened his mouth. "What the _hell_ is Lupin doing here? He is not part of the Sacred."

"He is here because _I_ wanted him to, _Adrian,"_ Sirius spat coolly, the tone in his voice sent chills down the boys' spine. "Why I want him to attend this meeting is none of your business."

Adrian Nott, father of Theodore Nott and an old friend of Lucius Malfoy, scowled darkly at Sirius. Ron noticed the other Sacred members snickered silently, even Nott's own friend. The look on Sirius' face told everyone enough that he wanted Nott to _apologise_ to Remus. But before Nott could even consider such a thing, Remus started to speak in his infamous careful and calm way.

"I am here to deliver news that the Ministry wish to _exterminate_ the Twenty Eight Sacred from its existent," Remus said, his face as impassive as his best friend's. "They know the influence the Council has on other Old Families, and they don't like it."

As if on cue, except for Lucius Malfoy and the dark-skinned man who Ron remembered was named Kingsley Shacklebot, _all_ the Council members started to speak at the same in anger.

"That is outrageous!" one man, who Harry and Malfoy identified as Yaxley, exclaimed. "The Sacred Council has been around since the time of _Merlin,_ when there were _thirty-five_ families involved. There is _no way_ for the Ministry to do so."

"Yaxley, you've played a docile kitten to Fudge for too long that you forget the fat bastard is resourceful," Sirius said in a bored tone. "Fudge _will_ find a way to nose his way into our business."

"What do you suppose our move then, Black?" Shacklebot said. "What are we going to do?"

"Kill Fudge and replace him with someone else?" someone said, receiving a murmur of agreement.

"As much as tempting that idea is, I'll have to say no," Sirius with a small grin. "Remus here says that we need to find leverage, all the dirt on Fudge, so when he comes to attack us, we'll have something to blackmail him with so he'll think twice about what he wants to do. And _that's_ where you'll come in, _Lucius_."

The older Malfoy cocked an eye brow. "What do you want me to do, Black?"

An almost feral look took over Sirius' face as he turned painfully slow toward the blonde beside him. From where he stood, hidden in the dark, for the first time ever, Ron found the two richest Purebloods looked _eerily_ similar to one another. It was only then that Ron realised just how closely related the Blacks and the Malfoys were, so much that almost all of them looked like each other. Beside him, judging from the surprised look on their faces', it seemed like Harry and Malfoy had finally realised it as well.

"I want you to write a written-report on _everything_ you have about Fudge. I want to know everything about him, even the name of his _bloody cat_. And I am aware of your _friendship_ with our dear Prime Minister, all your dirty transactions with the greedy bastard. So let me warn you to not _lie._ If I find out you're lying, and I _will_ find out about it, I am going to reveal how you _poisoned_ my fiancee, nearly killing her _and_ my baby."

Whispers began to explode between the Council members. At the same thing, Lucius' stony face looked vicious as he stared bravely at Sirius. "Careful about what you say, Black. There's no prove of your claim."

"The night my daughter was born, Marlene had a huge portion of apple pie. She had been craving for it for a week, but according to both Marlene and Dorcas, there was no bakery available with ready-to-buy pies. Just when Marlene was going to ask the Elves to make one for her, she found a freshly baked apple pie in the kitchen."

"So? You still can't prove it's got anything to do with me."

"Everyone in British wizarding world _knows_ that the gardens of Malfoy estate hold a vast land of apple trees. I remember as well back when we were still at Hogwarts, when I was a first year and you were in your fifth, some seventh year idiots teased you for being a _great_ cook, Lucius. They said that your cooking skills were as legendary as your potion-making. And you were very famous for your _bloody apple pies."_

Ron felt Malfoy tensed beside him, his grey eyes narrowing at his father, who looked a little paler than his normal colouring, even from where they were. Still, Lucius wasn't backing down so easily. He gave his last ditch at contradicting Sirius and said, "I thank you for your compliments, Black. But I still maintain my previous opinion that you can't pro – "

"You Malfoys wear the _same_ perfume as we Blacks do, and Dorcas claimed she could smell _my_ perfume from an _old_ man who was in the bakery with when she was going to buy the pie for Marlene. And don't tell me it's a coincidence because it's _not._ It's specifically made for both Blacks and Malfoys, seeing how our families were basically the same twisted clan."

Lucius was at lost for words, and from the way Sirius was smirking, it seemed like he knew Lucius had nothing to say anymore. Finally, the blonde man nodded his head, his face was as better mask of nonchalance than the one Ron ever saw on his son's face. Tilting his head to the side in what seemed like a _bit_ of resentmen, Lucius said, "I'll do it. I'll give you the report withing three days time."

"Brilliant," Sirius said, flashing his white teeth at everyone else. "That is all for today, my fellow Sacreds. Council adjourned."

The three boys waited until everyone had cleared out of the room for them to leave. The whole time, Ron noticed that both his best friend and enemy was awfully quiet. When they returned back to the living room, just in time before Dorcas was there to fetch Malfoy, the blonde haired boy turned to Harry and said something that Ron thought he'd never say in a million years.

"Potter, you and I may have hated each other since the first time we met," Malfoy said uneasily, looking at everywhere but Harry. "But I want you to know that I am _sorry_ for what my father did. I am sorry, and I hope Miss McKinnon and her daughter are all right."


	7. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 6

This was not how he pictured his life at age thirty. Since he was barely a man, he'd always pictured himself a Quidditch player or an Auror or a painter. His parents were always such horrible examples for a child, and ever since he was really young, he'd stopped looking up to them. He promised himself years ago that he'd make a path on his own; that he'd _never_ follow the demands of his parents. But then, after he saw what they could do to _blood traitors,_ how they'd think of them no better than Muggle-borns and Squibs, he got scared. He dreaded the prospect of not having anyone by his side. How _foolish_ he was to think so. How foolish he was, to doubt the _only_ person that he knew would have his back no matter what, even if they hadn't been that close since they both were just children _(but then again, they were_ just _children when the war first started)._ When he tried to redeem himself, doing the only good deed he thought would cleanse himself off all his sins, he was prepared that he would die very young. He knew that when he decided to become a coward, all his dreams were going to be wasted. But then he found himself in a Muggle hospital, several weeks after he did his good deed. He was wholly convinced that he'd died and gone to hell, but no, he didn't. He woke up to the sound of a Muggle woman talking to his unconscious-self, unaware that he'd been awake for almost ten minutes until she finally realise he had opened his eyes all along as he listened to her talking. All his life, he'd always thought that Muggles would be hideous creatures. That… _nurse,_ though, she was probably the most beautiful thing his eyes had ever laid eyes on.

After she got over her shock _(and was that joy?)_ of having him awake, she told him how long had it been since he got to the hospital. She said that a group of Muggle campers found him floating by the beach, barely alive because of all the injuries he suffered. The Muggle doctors were skeptical that he'd survive more than an hour after they tried to safe his life, especially with the head injury he suffered, but he did survive, even though he spent _six weeks_ unconscious. The whole time the nurse talked, only a part of his brain managed to digest what she was saying though. The other part of him was transfixed on her exquisite face. She had thick brown locks with the most stunning pair of blue eyes he'd ever seen. Her skin was so flawless, it made his hand itched to stroke her soft and delicate features, to touch her porcelain-like skin. But her best feature was her lips, and he spent a _great_ amount of time staring at those natural red lips of hers when she spoke, too much that she _should_ be bothered by how rude he was being. He needed not to use a tenth of his brain to know that he'd fallen in _love_ with the woman in front of him. He'd never been a charmer though, he was always the quiet one in his family. But for her, he'd damn well be a total prince charming, if that meant that she would _never_ leave his side. So, with great effort, he opened his mouth and said the first thing he'd said since the six weeks he'd been unconscious.

"What's your name?" he'd asked, his voice sounded raspy from the time he was under. His question caught her off guard, and it took her awhile to answer.

By then, he'd mentally slapped himself in the face for making a fool of himself, and was wishing that he could die for _real_ this time, when he saw her smiling. And _dear Salazar,_ he felt like he'd seen the face of an angel. He felt her hand on his face, gentle as the wind, as she answered his question.

"Irina. My name is Irina Hooper."

With Irina's help, he was able to fully recover in record's time. It wasn't an easy thing to do, but he did it. True, because of all the horrible injuries, he lost his left leg because of how ruined it was when the Muggles found him, and the doctors had to amputate it. But if it was the cost he had to pay to have his Irina in his life, he'd gladly trade both of his legs _and_ his hands as well. It was a week before his release from the hospital that he finally told her the truth about himself, and he'd admit that he was afraid that she'd freak out when she learned that he was a wizard. But Irina merely cocked an eye brow and asked him whether he was ready to have his daily therapy, acting just like she always did as if he just told her that it was raining outside. The day he was finally cleared to leave the hospital, he wrote a letter to Gringotts, withdrawing the money he'd stored away before his parents' death under the name Ronan O'Neal via the letter, exchanged it with Muggle money, and used the huge amount of money to settle about his living conditions in the Muggle world, _and_ to buy a ring to propose Irina with. To say that the woman was shocked would be an understatement, and he had half a mind to take it back, expecting her to say no because of the fact that they'd only known each other properly for only five months. As always though, Irina surprised him when she gave him her angelic smile and said yes to his proposal.

It was simply the _happiest_ he'd ever felt in all his life.

After all the horrible things he'd done, he was still given another chance.

It had been over a decade since they met, and he only loved her even more. With his marriage to Irina, he'd long discarded his magic, using it only when he _really_ needed to _(like that time when he accidentally set the kitchen on fire and had no choice but to use magic to put out the fire)._ Irina kept her job as a nurse, and he became a painter, fulfilling his old dream. Money wasn't really a problem, but he had to admit that it was significantly lesser than what he was used to back then in his old life. But it was okay, he didn't care about money. Though he wished he could give Irina a _much_ better life, he knew that what they had was more than enough. His happiness quadrupled when his daughter was born a week after New Year, looking every bit like his lovely wife was. The little girl did have his eyes though, and the moment he had the baby in his arms, he knew that he'd sacrifice his life for her. He named her Astrid Irina because he knew that not only his little girl was beautiful, the girl would prove to be a better person, much _stronger,_ than he ever was. It had been years, he knew that, but he still regretted his past choices. Yes, Irina understood why he did what he did, but in the back of his mind, he knew that there was still _one person_ that needed explanation from him.

For the first time in years, he ventured out from his small house that he built with his wife, and went to the Ministry of Magic, using more magic than he had ever allowed himself since he met Irina. With a little spell, he'd managed to get the information he wanted from a clueless intern. A week later, after all the encouraging his wife gave to him, he finally found the courage to do his long-overdue _task._ So, with his beautiful wife by his side, and his newborn daughter in his wife's arms, he stood in front of the huge gate of the Black Manor, pointing his wand at the Black family-crest on the center of the gate and sent a spell to alert the people inside of the Manor. He waited with baited breath for the gate to be opened, his hand automatically searched for Irina's ever soothing-one, especially when the gate finally pulled opened by an invincible force – at the same time a man that he hadn't met in almost seventeen years appeared before his eyes. He swallowed heavily when he saw the man's grey eyes landed on him _(so very much like his own grey ones),_ cold and devoid of emotion they were as he heard his wife beside him gasped loudly. He knew exactly what got the woman so surprised about.

Because Regulus Black really _did_ look very much like Sirius Black.

* * *

There weren't many things in this world that could catch Sirius off his guard. No matter how much he hated his parents and their horrible teachings, he couldn't help but to admit that when they taught him to _always_ have an absolute control on his emotions, they were _very_ right about that. It had helped him a great deal during his adult life, when he was dealing with all those power-hungry Ministry officials or those hardly trust-worthy Sacred members. But when he saw his _brother_ standing in front of him, looking like he wished the ground would swallow him whole, Sirius thought his heart just stopped. He barely noticed the woman with her baby standing beside Regulus, barely noticed how they held onto each other for dear life. All the Auror could think of was that his _little baby brother,_ who he thought had been dead for thirteen years, was standing _right_ in front of him. Shorter than Sirius was, lankier than Sirius was, it really _was_ Regulus' face that Sirius was staring at. He didn't even realise Remus' presence beside him awhile later, not even when the werewolf let out a small curse under his breath – which was _so unlike_ Remus, who always made sure he minded everything he said. Sirius had no idea how long he stood staring at Regulus, who stared right back at him, until he felt Remus tapped his shoulder.

"I think it's best for us to get inside," Remus said. "It's freezing out her, and it's bad for the baby."

Both Blacks snapped their eyes onto the baby in the woman's arms, one had a curious look on his face while the other looked worry. The younger of the two picked the baby and brought her against his chest, turned to his brother and said, "Sirius, I promise I'll explain everything to you, but _please,_ will you let us in?"

Sirius eyes flickered onto the small bundle in his brother's arms, and made a small nod. "Yeah, sure."

With his best friend by his side, Sirius led Regulus and his small family back into the house. Once inside, he Conjured a thick blanket and passed it to the younger Black, who accepted with a look of the utmost gratitude. Feeling awkward, Sirius turned to his best friend and wordlessly told him to get their women down into the living room. Remus gave a curt nod and went to fetch Marlene and Dorcas, but not before he told one of the Elves to get their guests something to eat. Once the Elf came with cake and hot chocolate, Sirius waved his hand and gestured for Regulus and his wife to have some. Regulus muttered thanks but he didn't move to take a bite of the cake or a sip of the chocolate. In fact, the only movement in the room came from the Regulus' wife _(was she really?)_ who carefully drank her hot chocolate, a slight tremor in his hands as her eyes flew to the direction where the Elf just disappeared after it delivered the food. Unable to handle the silence any longer, Sirius cleared his throat and said, "How old is she? Your baby."

"She'll be a month old on February sixth," Regulus answered, shifting a bit in his seat to get a little more comfortable with a baby in his arms. His movement caused his pant-leg to lift a bit, and only then Sirius noticed the metal-leg where Regulus' right leg should have existed.

"What happened to your leg?" Sirius said before he could stop himself. His brother flinched a bit, looking down to his prosthetic leg with a small frown.

"It's a long story," he said, earning a scowl from the Auror.

"Well, I have _plenty_ of time, right now. And you _did_ come to say something to me, right?" Sirius said, his voice raising even though he was mindful not to wake the baby up. "So, I suggest you to start explaining to me, _Reggie."_

The use of his childhood pet name seemed to do it, because the next thing Sirius knew, Regulus' story came like a flash flood. "I'd wanted out for a long time before my… _death._ I learned about the Dark Lord being a half-blood, and how almost _everyone_ who joined him became mad with power. I knew I had to get out, but I realised it'd come with a price. I worked hard to find his weakness and tried to destroy it. But I…I nearly died. To be honest, it was always a mystery to me about how I managed to survive after…after trying to fight off hundreds of vicious Inferi. I was found not long after that, floating on the shore of a beach near the cave where I almost died. A group of Muggles brought me to a Muggle hospital, and they had to take away my leg because of how the Inferi tried to mangle it. Six weeks later, I woke up and learned that after all of my sins, I still had another chance to make everything right. I met my wife Irina at the hospital, and decided that I'd leave the wizarding world once and for all. But when my little Astrid was born, I realised that she'd be a witch, and I didn't want her to be isolated from all that, pretending to be a Muggle until she finally had her letter. So yeah, that was when I decided I'd have to come clean to you."

Sirius had hard time trying to process everything Regulus said. His brothers' words were going on repeat in his mind, and he was sure he looked like a bloody idiot the whole time he tried to have some sort of control on his scattered mind. By the time he finally digested what Regulus said, Remus had come with the ladies into the living room. Both Dorcas and Marlene, who was holding Payne in her arms, let out loud gasps when their eyes landed on Regulus' form. Sirius immediately went to his fiancee's side, guiding the love his life toward where his brother and his family were, the Lupins following behind him. Clearing his throat for the second time that night, Sirius said, "Mar, let me introduce you to my brother and his wife; Regulus and Irina Black. And that little one he's holding is Irina, his daughter. Reggie, meet my fiancee Marlene McKinnon and my little baby Payne."

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss McKinnon," Regulus said politely, offering his free hand to Marlene, who took it with a dazed look on her face.

"And you know Remus, don't you, Reg? The petite woman beside him is his wife, Dorcas," Sirius continued. Regulus nodded his head and went to shake Remus' and Dorcas' hands.

Regulus opened his mouth to say something, but whatever it was he was going to say was cut short when his daughter started to cry, her little fists punching out of the blanket Regulus wrapped her with restlessly. Almost immediately, Regulus' wife _(she_ was _his wife, and her name was Irina, you dunderhead)_ transferred the baby into her arms, gently cooing over the crying girl. She grimaced when she felt the baby's forehead, and it didn't take a genius to guess what she felt. Looking at her husband, she worried her lip, before carefully averted her gaze at Sirius.

"Yes?" Sirius said, tilting his head to the side. Irina swallowed but she bravely continued.

"Do you…do you have some place for me to lay Astrid for awhile? I promise it won't be long. I just want to give her something to treat her cold. She's been a little sick since yesterday."

Without looking at Marlene, Sirius said, "Mar, please take Irina here and Astrid to the guest room. And if it's okay with her, will Dorcas check on the baby? Make sure she's okay."

"Of course, Sirius," Marlene said, giving Sirius a small peck on his cheek before she turned to Irina. Giving the blonde a smile, she said, "Follow me, please. We'll make sure you daughter is okay. I believe she's around my Payne's age, right?"

Whatever reply Irina gave Marlene, Sirius had no idea. The three women had disappeared into one of the many guest rooms the Manor had. But Sirius had enough time to observe the woman that had won his brother's heart. Since they were young, Regulus was always the more reserved one between the two of them. In fact, Regulus and their cousin Narcissa were the only quiet Blacks when the younger generation of the Black family gathered together. Sirius himself and Narcissa's sisters Bellatrix and Andromeda were obnoxiously loud like the rest of their family were. He remembered while he was gifted the ability to talk his way out of every situation he got himself in, especially when it came to charming girls off, Regulus was always tongue-tied. But Sirius remembered the small amount of girls Regulus dated back when they were still at Hogwarts, all the leggy blondes that tailed after his little brother. But it wasn't the fact that Irina was a bruntte and shorter than Regulus' past girlfriends. It was the fact that the woman seemed to be _scared_ when she saw the Elf, or when Sirius popped in front of the gates to see who had sounded the alarm.

The woman was a _Muggle._

"She's a Muggle, isn't she?" Sirius said slowly, his eyes boring holes into his brother's. Regulus made a small nod.

"She is. Irina was the nurse who looked after me back when I was still at the hospital. She was the first person I saw after weeks of being unconscious. And I fell for the minute I laid eyes on her." He let out a mirthless chuckle before he continued. "Don't you find funny, brother? _You_ were always the one who hated all of the Pureblood traditions. Mother was always convinced that you'd end up marrying a Muggle. Yet it was _me,_ who married one."

For the first time since their reunion, Sirius felt himself grin. "The bitch must be rolling in her grave right now, I bet. Along with her husband and the rest of our ancestors."

Both Blacks shared a laugh, but it didn't last long. A serious look took over Regulus' handsome face as he looked at his older brother closely. "Sirius, if you must know, I'm here not only to clear things out with you. I'm here for other purposes."

Sirius instantly sobered up as well and he leaned forward, showing his brother that he was all ears. "What do you need, Reggie?"

Regulus glanced at the door where his wife was with his baby, and let out a small sigh. It wouldn't be a walk in the park, sure, but if he really wanted his daughter to be a part of the world he'd left behind, he _had_ to do this.

"I want to help you to defeat _Voldemort,_ and I want to join the Order of the Phoenix."


	8. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 7

**NOTES:** Hey, there guys! Long time no see, yes? Right, so this chapter is partly based on the book and also the movie. I hope the wait is worth it ;)

* * *

 _ **SIRIUS BLACK'S LONG LOST BROTHER RETURNS**_

 _Everyone in Britain wizarding world knows the story of the Black Brothers. It wasn't a secret that while the oldest, Sirius Black, became an Auror, his little brother Regulus joined Voldemort's Death Eaters. Their former class mates remembered that though they never openly showed hatred toward each other, it was safe to say that the Brothers weren't very close. When Regulus disappeared not long after the announcement of Sirius' engagement to Marlene McKinnon was made, the Heir to the Black fortune gave no comment about it. It was presumed that the younger Black died, though the cause of his death was unknown. Thirteen years after his disappearance, Regulus came back from the 'dead' and went to see his brother. On February 19, both Black brothers held a press conference about his return to a select few of reporters. (continue to page 15)_

Ever since the morning papers came, Harry was ambushed with questions from almost every Gryffindor about the news of Regulus Black's return. The one question that they always asked was whether Regulus an evil person. The question irked Harry because for one, he hadn't even met the guy so how the hell was he going to answer that? For another, he was getting sick of people nosing into his and his family's problem. Harry understood that technically, his family was probably everyone's hope in defeating Voldemort. But it didn't mean it wasn't annoying when he people asking him constantly about his Godparents, or bloody reporters following him and his family around when they went out to public. Therefore, he was very glad that he had his father's Cloak with him because it helped him to go around the castle unseen. A part of him knew that he shouldn't use the Cloak so carelessly, lest anyone would find out, but he had no choice. At least, Ron and Hermione were willing to cover for him. Being the good friend that they were, not only they didn't pester him with questions, both Ron and Hermione also helped him to get under or out of the Cloak without anyone seeing him. At the moment though, Harry was alone because they had made up a story that they were going to meet him at the library, when actually, Harry was going back to the Common Room. Seeing that it was dinner time, the majority of Hogwarts was either back at their own Common Room or at the Hall having dinner. So, after quite sometime of internal debate, Harry took off the Cloak and sort of skipped his way to the Gryffindor Tower.

Except he should have known that being him, nothing _ever_ went as planned.

 _"Potter! Hey, Potter! Potter, wait up!"_

Grunting in exaggeration without turning back, Harry snapped, "Yes, it appears that my Godfather's brother is back. And no, I don't know whether he is evil. I haven't met the guy at all, seeing that he came when I got back here after the holidays. Anything else you want to know?"

"Wow, Scarhead, thank you for the overly detailed information on my mother's cousin that I _already_ know," the person drawled in a familiar monotone voice that Harry hadn't heard since the holidays back at the home.

"Malfoy," Harry said, finally turning back to look at the blonde who cocked an eye brow at him.

"Potter," Draco Malfoy replied, his face as devoid of emotion as his tone was. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About the Sorcerer's Stone."

Harry froze upon hearing Draco's answer. _No one_ was supposed to know about the Stone – no one _but_ him and his family. Well, he himself wasn't supposed to know about it. It was only because he was incredibly curious that his Godfathers finally relented in telling him about the Stone. Since the night Voldemort lost his body _(must_ not _thing about his parents),_ the evil wizard had tried many times to find a way on getting his corporeal form back. It was several years prior, back when Harry was only six, that Dumbledore was alerted to the fact that Voldemort was hunting the Stone. The old man quickly told his friend Nicolas Flamel about Voldemort's plan, and they both agreed that for safekeeping, the Stone should be hidden somewhere Voldemort would _least_ expect it. _That_ was how Harry's family was involved. One night, Sirius came back home holding a pouch in his hand, went to the cellar of the Manor, and specifically instructed _all_ of the Elves to never touch the chest where he kept pouch. It took a lot of nagging from Harry _and_ Marlene and Dorcas for Sirius and Remus to tell them what they were hiding in the cellar. Then, the night before Harry would go to Hogwarts, Dumbledore came to the Manor and told Sirius that there were words about Voldemort finding out the location of the Stone was with Sirius. The Headmaster decided that he would keep the Stone at Hogwarts, lest Voldemort would target the inhabitants of the Black Manor. Before Harry went to Hogwarts, both sets of his Godparents warned him explicitly that he was _not_ to tell anyone about it, or they'd take away his Nimbus 2000.

And now _Malfoy_ of all people knew about the Stone.

"Who told you about the Stone?" Harry said slowly, eyeing his enemy _(but was he really?)_ closely.

"No one," Malfoy said solemnly. "I will tell you about it, but we can't talk here. For all I know, _he_ could have ears everywhere."

"Fine, where do you want to talk about?"

Glancing at the door to the empty class not far from them, Malfoy beckoned Harry to follow him. Once inside, the blonde went around the room, as if to make sure there would be no chance of anyone overhearing their conversation. He made a small nod to himself when he was satisfied with his assessment, before turning his attention to Harry. He let out a heavy sigh, his cheeks puffing out a little like chimpmunks, and for the first time since Harry knew the Slytherin, only then that he realised how the both of them were _only children._

"I know your Godfather used to have the Stone with him back at your home," Malfoy started. "I know about it because my _father_ followed him to your cellar when he was at Black Manor. Auror Black was terribly hurt back then, hence why he didn't realise my father was there. It if weren't because of it, it would be impossible to do that."

Harry remembered that day. He was ten years old, and Sirius came back home with nasty wound under his right ribs and helped by _Lucius Malfoy._ He was just from a Sacred meeting that was held at one of the many properties Sirius had all the way in Dublin, and he was attacked by some Death Eaters on the way back. Marlene was so sure that it was _Lucius_ who had attacked Sirius, and if it wasn't because of Sirius himself who convinced them otherwise, his Godmother would have probably killed Lucius right then and there. Sirius didn't wait until Dorcas had properly healed his wounds when he dashed off to the cellar. Later, when Harry was eavesdropping on Sirius' conversation with Remus, he found out that the Death Eaters that attacked him had mentioned the Stone and how they'd never hesitate on hurting his _family_ to get it.

"Did your father tell you about the Stone?" Harry asked. He couldn't help the little grin on his face when Malfoy scoffed and pouted petulantly like the child they all were.

"Of course not," Malfoy huffed. "I had to sneak into his study to listen on the conversation he had with my mother… But, anyway, now that I've answered your question, I'm going to tell you what I just overheard yesterday between Snape and Quirrel."

Harry blinked. He had never liked the Potions Master, and he known for a long time from Sirius that Quirrel was _not_ to be trusted. He knew that Snape _hated_ his father because he _loved_ his mother _(fate was so funny)_ But, before he could make accusations against Snape, Malfoy had continued hastily. "It's not Snape, Potter. Trust me, it's not him. Snape tried to scare Quirrel, I swear."

"How can you be so sure?" Harry said skeptically, crossing his arms together.

Malfoy was silent for a moment, tilting his head to the side in a way that was so familiar to Harry. It took him awhile to realise that he'd seen the gesture on _Sirius_ many times. Running a hand through his platinum locks, he said, "You may _not_ tell anyone this, not even your Godparents, but Severus Snape is my _Godfather_. There are things he's told me about himself, and I can't tell you about it. But believe me when I say I trust the man _more_ than I do my father."

There was something from the way Malfoy talked that made Harry believed him; like what happened back during the holidays. In the back of his mind, Harry recalled the lone white tulip Marlene found in Sirius' office, along with a small note that said ' _sorry for what he did'_ in an elegant hand-writing that looked much too familiar in Harry's eyes. Looking at the blonde in front of him, Harry felt a sense of _something_ other than the usual hatred he felt toward Malfoy. It was almost felt like _gratitude_ , along with something else, especially when he remembered that the boy had _saved_ his best friend after all. He supposed it wouldn't take long for him to finally be more civil toward Malfoy after all the Slytherin had done.

 _(Harry tried hard not to imagine the blush on Hermione's face whenever he caught her eyeing him.)_

"What did you hear from Snape?" Harry said. "I presume Quirrel's the villain here, since we're definitely ruling out Snape. So, what's the loon going to do?"

"I think he's going to try to steal the Stone tonight."

"Why tonight?"

"Because, from what McGonagall told me this morning when I tried to see Dumbledore, our dear Headmaster is not at school."

* * *

 _"What is that git doing with you?"_

Hermione was about to reprimand Ron for talking _really_ loud at the library, when she saw who was with Harry. She had begun to consider a glasses for herself because it _couldn't_ be Draco Malfoy walking beside her best friend. What shocked her even more was the fact that both boys looked pretty civil, both of their wands were peacefully tucked inside their pockets. Ever since her first day at Hogwarts, Hermione had witnessed Harry and Malfoy going at each other with worrying consistency. It was like every morning, all they could think about was to either yell names at each other, or to initiate amateur duel. So, in the end, she kept herself from reprimanding Ron's loudness because she too was shocked to see what she saw.

"Malfoy's going to tell us about something," Harry said shortly, nodding at the Pureblood to continue. She felt him threw a vague glance at herself, before he launched into explanation.

He took fifteen minutes to relay what he just told Harry, and the whole time, Hermione couldn't stop herself from staring like a foolish girl. The boy was such an odd mystery. Ever since he saved her from the troll, he had stopped teasing her. In fact, he'd avoided her all together. When they were unfortunate enough and were paired together for school work, he kept his conversation to a minimum. Hermione had always wondered _why_ the Slytherin was acting so weird. She remembered the boys telling her about the time Malfoy came to Harry's home; how he looked _so lost_ when Ron questioned him why he saved Hermione, how he looked so guilty at the revelation of his father poisoning Harry's Godmother. According to a lot of people, the Malfoys functioned almost robotically. Ron had many times remarked that they didn't have a heart, and as a result, the Malfoys were also incapable of feeling. But what Malfoy did was the exact opposite of what everyone always said about him and his family.

And now he was going to help them save the day. _Theoritically._

At first, Hermione straight out refused to join Harry and his plan to stop Quirrel. But it was because of her curiousity and thirst of knowledge that got her after hearing Malfoy mentioned the Sorcerer's Stone. Hermione had read about it in one of the books she borrowed in the library for a little bit of light reading ( _"Shut up, Ronald," she spat when Ron gave her a funny look.)._ So, against her better judgment, just an hour before midnight, she waited for Harry and Ron in front of the girl's dormitory. When the boys finally came out, they wasted no time and headed out of the Common Room, where they knew Malfoy had been waiting for them. Unfortunately for them though, there was already someone else waiting for them with Malfoy.

"Neville?" Hermione called, carefully taking a step toward her first friend at Hogwarts ( _Malfoy didn't count, Mione.)._

"Hermione!" he exclaimed, sounding a great deal relieved. He was aiming his wand at Malfoy, who merely cocked an eye brow at the other boy. "Oh, thank Merlin you guys are here! We have to report Malfoy to a professor. I was looking for Trevor in the Common Room when I heard him harassing the Fat Lady."

" _I_ was harassing the fat pig?" Malfoy spat, ignoring the shouts of indignant coming from the Fat Lady herself. "You got it all wrong, Longbottom. _She_ was the one who started yelling when I merely stood here waiting for your idiot _friends."_

Malfoy's respond seemed to shock Neville because the boy actually took away from both Malfoy and his fellow Gryffindors. He turned his gaze to Harry, those eyes asking for explanation from the green-eyed boy. Sighing, Hermione noticed Harry discreetly reached for his wand as he said, "I'm really sorry for this, Neville, but I have to do this."

"Do wha – "

" _Petrificus Totalus!"_

"Harry!" Hermione reprimanded her friend. "I can't _believe_ you just attacked Neville!"

Before Harry could defend himself though, it was Malfoy who spoke in his defense. "Granger, you _know_ Potter's got no choice. We have to stop Quirrel before it's too late, and Longbottom there is stalling us. Now, why don't you put away your guilt and get going?"

She knew that the blonde was right. But, even as she followed them all to the third floor, where Dumbledore had warned them to stay away from, she couldn't shake the look on Neville's face upon realising that Harry had just attacked him. She tried to shrug it aside though, aware that she needed to be focused. It was right on time for her to focus her thoughts because, when the four of them got into the secret door they saw Filch spent hours standing in front of, they were met with the sight of Hogwarts' own Cerberus. Lucky for them though, because the three-headed-dog was asleep, thanks to the harp playing not far from the beast. They saw the opened trap-door and quickly jumped inside, sliding all the way on the longest ride of slide Hermione had ever went on in her life, and landed on top of something hard and slippery. It looked like gigantic roots with the colour as dark as tar, and it went _all_ over the dungeon where they landed.

"Good thing there's good cushioning down here," Ron said with a small smile. Hermione was about to agree when she heard both Harry and Malfoy yelped.

"Bloody hell, this is not good," Harry muttered, his green-eyes were wide opened as he looked around. Beside her, Malfoy nodded his head urgently.

"Granger, quick; make a bright light," Malfoy commanded as he got his own wand out of his pocket. And _of course,_ it offended Hermione.

" _Excuse me?"_ she said, her tone a tad higher than its usual pitch. "Who do you think you are, ordering me around, you arrogant – "

Hermione's breath hitched in her throat when she felt the branches around her started to wrap tightly around legs. Warning bells rang in her head, and she soon recognised that they had landed on top of a lair of Devil's Snare. She felt her brain whirring fast in her head, trying to remember the spell on creating a bright light like Malfoy said because starting a fire would just kill them all. The incantation left her mouth at the same time it left Malfoy's, and the next thing she knew, they fell through the Snares and onto a hard concrete floor. Quite comically, Harry landed on top of Ron, who grunted in both pain and annoyance. Hermione would have laughed if she could, but she herself had a rather hard landing and would have lost her footing if it wasn't for the hand catching her from falling. Her heart froze when she realised whose hand it was. She didn't have to look back to know that it was _Malfoy's_ hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" Malfoy said softly, _so_ unlike the boy who had teased all those months ago, who had yelled Harry kinds of names.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hermione quickly said, unintentionally pushing his hand off her. She tried hard not to flinch at the hurt look that crossed his pale face.

"Hey, Malfoy," Harry called, his head poking from behind a wall. "Come and check this out."

"Alright," the blonde answered curtly and walked ahead of Hermione to where Harry was.

As she got to where her friends were, she heard a thousand fluttering of wings before she saw the bird. But later, she realised that they weren't birds. They were actually keys – _hundreds_ of them. In the middle of the room, not very far from where they were standing, there was a broom floating, as if ready to be ridden. Hermione didn't have to be the genius that she was to know that their next task was to go get the right key so they could open the door just across the room. The problem would be to determine which key was the right one. Much to everyone's surprise, it was actually Ron who pointed out that the right key must be the only silver key with the broken wing, _definitely_ because it was just gripped tightly as it was used. Harry didn't waste time and got on the broom so he could get the key. It took him flying all around the room for quite sometime, chased by the other keys, until he finally got the key. He then threw it into Malfoy's hand so he could open the door. The other keys were flying after Harry like angry birds, and went they slammed the door right behind Harry after he got in, the sound of the thousand keys against the door reminded Hermione of machine gun.

"That was brilliant, Harry," Ron panted, a little out of breath like the rest of them was. "Good thing you were the youngest Seeker for nothing. Those keys were going to _kill_ us!"

"Thanks, Ron," Harry said with a smile. Clapping a hand on his friend's back, he said, "Come on. We still haven't found Quirrel."

They continued their journey with Harry on the front and Malfoy on the back while Ron and Hermione on the sides. Hermione couldn't help but to feel as if that was be their assigned battle positions. She looked at the three boys and realised that the four of them completed each other as a group. Looking at Harry, she wondered briefly whetherthe late James Potter had the same determined look on his face like his son did. After a few minutes of walking, they got into a huge chamber where the torches around them quickly began to lit one by one. The moment the last torch was lit, her eyes widened slightly at the life-sized chess pieces around them, set as if they were ready to be played. Glancing at Ron, she noticed, for the first time since they got under the trap-door, there was a small glint in Ron's blue eyes. It was obvious that Ron was excited, seeing that this was something of his expertise. He then asked one of the black knights standing not far for him whether they had to join and became chess piece to cross the chamber. When the knight nodded, a contemplative look crossed his freckled-face.

"Hm, I see…" Turning to Malfoy with a small frown, he said, "You can play chess, right? And rather good at that, according to your mates."

"Weasley, I'm not going against you today," Malfoy said. "Yes, I can play chess, and maybe I'm rather good. But I'll leave this to you. Do whatever you thing is best."

The look of gratitude on Ron's face was so genuine, Hermione couldn't help herself but to grin along with Ron. Nodding his head, the readhead said, "Alright, then. Well, Harry, you take the bishop's place. Hermione, you're rook. And Malfoy, you're the queen."

When Harry and Ron snorted a laugh, Malfoy scowled and said, "Oh ha ha, very funny, Ginger Weasle. I'm starting to regret my decision now."

"Hush up, Malfoy," Hermione said, sensing an upcoming argument. She was expecting the blonde to argue her, and was completely caught of guard when he merely _pouted._

"Sorry for that, Malfoy. But I expect you to be a better player than Harry. So, if it turns out I fail, you'll have to take my place," Ron said, his tone was serious this time.

"What are you going to be then?" Harry asked. Ron shrugged and stepped toward the horse piece.

"I'm going to be a knight," Ron answered. It seemed like the pieces heard what he said because the bishop, the rook, the knight and the queen they were replacing quickly moved out of the board. "Right, everything's set. White always goes first. Yeah…"

A white pawn took two steps forward. Ron began to move around other pawns, and they all moved just like he told them to. Hermione was suddenly struck with the realisation that in Wizard's Chess, the losing pieces weren't only tossed aside like the Muggle chess she used to play with back at home. No, in Wizard's Chess, they _bludgeoned_ the losing piece to smitherens. A cold shiver of fear trail down her spine at the thought. What if they _lost?_ And when she got a look on the three boys' faces, all of them who were better chess players than she was, she knew that they thought about the same thing. Their first hit was when the remaining black knight was literally slain by the white queen, and Hermione noticed how her companions looked pretty shaken up. She lost count how many times she screamed when the black pieces of their side were destroyed, especially when she saw a pawn was thrown aside violently and nearly knocked Malfoy. From where she was standing, she realised that Ron was trying his best not to move them around too much, for fear that the white pieces would target them. Malfoy, being the queen, he was the one who was targeted many times, and a lot of times the blonde had to crouch when other pieces Ron had placed to protect him was taken out. It was several minutes after the other black rook was knocked by the last remaining white knight, that Malfoy, who had been silent the whole time, lost in his own thoughts, even when he nearly got killed by the flying debris, finally made a sound.

"Don't do it, Weasley!" Malfoy yelled. "I know what you're planning to do. _Don't do it."_

"Oh no…" Harry muttered, seeming like he finally followed on Ron's plan. "He's right, Ron. Please, don't do it."

"Do what?" Hermione insisted, confused. "What he's planning to do?"

"He's going to sacrifice himself," Malfoy said stiffly. Hermione's eyes widened in epic proportions.

"Ron, that is insane!" she said. "You cannot – "

"Do you want to stop Quirrel or not?" Ron snapped impatiently. "This has to be done, Hermione."

"Yes, but there must be another – "

"No, there isn't," Ron interjected. "They have to get me, or they will get Malfoy. And trust me Hermione, when they get Malfoy, they _will_ win."

"But – "

"Malfoy, once I'm done, you're free to checkmate the king. And no more arguing about this with me. We don't have anymore time."

"Okay then," Harry said in the end in a strong voice, but there was no hiding the slight shaking in his right hand. "Malfoy, you heard him. _Don't_ do anything stupid."

Malfoy nodded his head to both boys. Satisfied, Ron turned his attention to the white queen. He took a deep breath, and began to walk toward it. When the queen hit Ron's head _really_ hard, Hermione had half a mind to go after him. But she realised they were still playing, so she kept herself still and set her eyes on Ron, hoping that the blow wasn't hard enough to cause permanent damage. Then she heard Malfoy took a step forward, and another, and another, and _another,_ until he was standing right in front of the king. Letting out a shuddering breath but yet managing a voice that was loud and clear, the blonde said, "Checkmate."

The white king threw its crown at Malfoy's feet. They had won. All at once, the rest of the pieces gave them a bow before stepping away from the board and headed toward the door that was no longer guarded. Being the closest, Malfoy was the first one who reached Ron even before Harry or Hermione. Putting a finger on Ron's pulse point, Malfoy sighed in relief, which meant a good sign to Hermione. He then proceed on checking Ron's head for any possible head wound. He found none, and again, he breathed in relief.

"He's alright," Malfoy said. "But we do have to go now though. Quirrel might have gotten the Stone by now."

"I'll stay with him," Hermione said out of the blue. "I just… I don't feel right leaving him alone here."

"Alright, we'll go then," Harry said, giving her a grateful smile. Hermione knew that he too didn't want to leave Ron all alone. "Come on, then, Malfoy. It's just you and me."

Hermione watched the two boys, polar opposites of each other, walked side by side to stop evil from winning. She could hear their voices arguing though, and she assumed they weren't that far. She was just trying to move Ron to somewhere saver, when she heard a loud _familiar_ roar that still haunted her dreams. Her heart felt like stopping, especially when there were loud shouts coming from both Harry and Malfoy. Her whole body was trembling as she held onto Ron's unconscious form, praying so bad that the _troll_ wasn't coming to get her. The grounds around her felt like shaking, and she heard unmistakable snaps of spells whipping out from wands. Then, what she heard next, was sure to traumatise her for at least the next few months to come.

 _"Potter, move out of the way!"_

 _"Malfoy, no!"_

Hermione let out a scream when she saw Malfoy _flying_ across the room, colliding against the wall rather violently. She had no idea which one was her voice and which one was Harry's when she saw the troll advancing toward Malfoy. Before she could realise what she was doing, she had left Ron and was running toward the Pureblood, yelling for him to wake up. It was almost impossible for her to believe it, but Malfoy _did_ wake up. Groggily but with determination flaring in his grey eyes, he stood up and looked defiantly at the troll. Pointing his wand at the high ceiling, he yelled the last spell Hermione expected him to say.

 _"Bombarda!"_

 _"Draco!_


	9. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Another update! I hope you like this one. And oh, after this, comes the final chapter of FIRST YEAR. And I'd really, really, _really_ love it if you guys spend sometime and tell me what you think of the story so far. Just write a little review, yeah? You can write anything and I'll be happy to read them all :D

* * *

There was nothing in this world that Dorcas cared more than her family. She loved them so much and couldn't imagine a life without them. She thought that being a member of the Order of the Phoenix should have prepared her for all the lost she might suffered. She was wrong. If anything, she was living in constant fear that one day, there would come a time when she lost everything. Working as Healer didn't mean she was as oblivious of the War like people often thought. No, every day, she would find at least one casualty of the War. Most of the time, they were Aurors. But when a young child, who probably hadn't set foot on Hogwarts yet, _died_ in an ambush, it broke Dorcas' heart. That was why when McGonagall told her to come because Harry was hurt, she felt like her whole world had collapsed. She barely remembered Flooing to Hogwarts when she appeared in McGonagall's office. All she had in mind was that she _had_ to get to Harry immediately. True, she wasn't his biological mother, nor was she his legal guardian. But he _still_ was her son – her _baby._ Tearing down to Hospital Wing, she practically pushed Madam Pomfrey aside so she could tend to her boy.

According to what Dumbledore told her, Harry's pure and innocent magic was the reason why he could defeat Quirrel and his dastardly intentions. But, it came with a cost. By the time Dumbledore got there to help him, Harry's core magic was nearly sapped dry, and he was _really_ close to dying. When Dorcas finally saw Harry, she was part-annoyed and part-relieved that Snape had gotten there first to help Harry, administering potions that would replenish his magic. She was thankful that Snape was there to save Harry, seeing that if they were a little too late, Harry would have died. She couldn't deny the fact that she wanted _her_ to be the one who saved Harry though. But she wasn't stupid. She knew that she couldn't be selfish for the good of her boy. So, she decided to make herself useful, and looked to the other two boys that resided the empty beds at Hospital Wing. The first boy was Ron Weasley, son of Arthur and Molly Weasley, who were a few years her senior. It was the other boy though, the one who was lying right next to Harry, that made her breath hitched.

 _Draco Malfoy._

The young boy, who always reminded everyone greatly of his father with his mask of indifference and cold smirk, was lying broken on the bed that looked much to big for him. His skin that was a few shades lighter than most people, looked almost translucent. Blood was soaking his platinum hair, and even though he was unconscious, his face was twisted in pain. Standing by his bed side across Madam Pomfrey, was a young girl about Harry's age with crazy curls. After listening to Harry's stories, the Healer knew that the girl could only be her boy's best friend, the brilliant Muggle born Hermione Granger. The girl was throwing worried glances on the three unconscious boys, but when Dorcas looked closely, she saw that the girl was holding little Malfoy's hand tightly in hers. It baffled the petite Healer greatly, that she nearly didn't hear Snape calling her name.

"…will you have a look at him, Lupin?" Snape said in his usual drawl.

"What?" Dorcas said, finally taking her attention from the two kids. She looked right into Snape's onyx eyes, and found the slightest bit of emotion there.

Was that _fear_ she saw in those unfeeling orbs of his?

"I'm going to get some potions from my office. In the mean time, will check you Mr Malfoy's condition and see the extention of his injuries?" Snape asked.

"Of course," Dorcas said. Even without Snape asking, her profession wouldn't allow her to just ignore the poor boy. Heading toward Draco, she quickly whipped her wand and used her spell to scan through his injuries.

"And oh, Lupin?" Snape said before leaving. "Your boy is alright. It will take him a few days to wake up, but otherwise, he's fine."

Dorcas let out a huge breath of relief that she wasn't aware she had been keeping. Flashing the ex-Death Eater a small smile, she said, "Thank you, Snape. Thank you."

With a curt nod of his head, Snape was gone.

"Miss Granger?" Dorcas said, causing the girl to jump a bit. "Will you step aside for a moment? I need to take a look at young Mr Malfoy here. In the mean time, you can tell Madam Pomfrey what's happened to Mr Malfoy, okay?"

"Y-yes, Healer Lupin," the girl said. She looked at the hand she was holding, and judging from the blush on her face, it seemed like she hadn't noticed what she was doing.

As Dorcas began her examinination on the blonde, she kept one ear to Hermione's explanation. The girl said that after they defeated the chess set, which rendered Ron unconscious but otherwise unharmed, Hermione decided that she would stay and look after her ginger friend, leaving Harry and Draco to proceed all by themselves. She heard both boys arguing about which potion to take to help them crossed Snape's fire, when she heard the loud roar of the troll. Dorcas remembered the whole thing during the Halloween feast, and she perfectly understood when the girl admitted she froze upon hearing it. Hermione then continued her story, saying that she heard both Harry and Draco trying their best to protect themselves from the raging troll. Then she heard Draco yelled, followed by Harry's own voice. The next thing she knew, Hermione saw Draco flying across the room. That was when the brilliant girl snapped off her frozen stupor and quickly headed off toward the blonde to help. She yelled for him to wake up, and he miraculously did wake up. There was blood trickling down the side of his head before he lifted his wand up on the ceiling and made the ceiling dropped on the troll _and_ himself, effectively protecting everyone yet endangering himself. Hermione thought the boy was a goner, even when Dumbledore came to the rescue and literally pulled Draco out of the huge rocks that had collapsed on him and the troll.

"Will he be alright, Healer Lupin?" Hermione said in a small voice. Dorcas had finished patching up the Slytherin, and Hermione was looking worriedly at the blonde.

"He lost quite a lot of blood, and the process of mending his broken bones won't be easy. But, yeah, I suppose he'll be alright," Dorcas said, giving the young girl a reassuring smile. "Now, I'm going to take care of Harry and Ron, okay? I trust you can take care of Draco, yes? And I need you to come get me in around…fifteen minutes so I can ask Professor Snape for the potions."

"Okay," Hermione said, taking a seat beside Draco's bed. She shoved her hands into her pockets, as if she needed to stop herself from reaching out for the blonde's hand. Dorcas was on her way to check on Ron when she heard noises out side of the hospital.

" _Dorcas? Dorcas, are you in there with Harry? Doe, is he okay?"_

" _Oh, dear Merlin. Lucius, I'm worried about Draco."_

"WHY DIDN'T _ANYONE_ TELL ME THAT _MY_ GODSON WAS IN DANGER? I HAVE THE _RIGHT_ TO KNOW!"

"Oh, shut up, Black. You're not the only one who's worried about his boy. My _son_ is hurt too, you know, and it's all your _godson's_ fault."

"Cissy, put a leash on your husband, will you? He's starting to get on my last damn nerve."

"Padfoot, behave. And I suggest the same for you too, Lucius."

The door to the Hospital Wing was thrown opened, revealing five newcomers to Dorcas's eyes. There was her husband standing beside his best friend. Marlene was standing on Sirius' other side, little Payne was obviously left with Regulus and his wife. Next to Remus was the Malfoys, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. While Lucius was a frequent visitor to Black Manor because of the Sacred meetings, it had been over a _decade_ since the last time Dorcas saw Lady Malfoy. She had never thought about it before, but now that she saw them in one room, only then that she did remember that Sirius was first cousins with Narcissa. It was easy to forget that her best friend was related to the crazies. When both Malfoys found their son's figure lying on the bed, Dorcas was glad that she had done treating most of the boy's injuries, leaving the little bruises that she thought was better to heal naturally. Judging from the look on their faces, no doubt they wouldn't be too pleased to find their beloved son's bleeding and bruising.

"Miss Granger," Dorcas said in a small voice, her hand reaching to tap on Hermione's shoulder softly. "I think it's better for you to leave. You can visit your friends tomorrow."

Eyes wide as she threw a scared glance at the Malfoys, Hermione nodded her head and quickly left the room. Dorcas noticed how Remus made a swift move and placed himself between Hermione and Lucius when the young Gryffindor walked past the older Malfoy. It was very fortunate that Lucius' attention was all set on his son, even when his wife had a frown on her face as she watched Hermione's retreating form. With great fascination, Dorcas noticed that even though the Malfoys were popular for being evil, it was obvious that the couple cared a great deal about their son. But, the thought was soon forgotten when Sirius pushed past everyone else so he could get to Harry, his wand was already in his hand so he could check on his Godson.

"He's alright, Sirius," Dorcas said before the question could leave the Auror's mouth. Turning to everyone else in the room, she continued. "They are _all_ alright. We put them to sleep so that they can heal properly without being interrupted."

"Oh, thank Merlin," Marlene sighed. "Dumbledore told us everything, and it got me _so_ worried. I mean, they fought a _troll_ by themselves."

"The kid is _definitely_ his father's son," Sirius scoffed fondly as he stroke Harry's hair. "Stupid Potters and their bloody hero-complex."

"Where's Arthur and Molly?" Remus asked. "I thought they'd be here too."

"Arthur was out on a raid when Dumbledore came to tell them about the news. And Molly was taking their youngest Ginny to St Mungo's because the poor girl had the flu. But he sent them a Patronus and they said they'd be here by noon," Dorcas explained. Remus nodded his head as a respond but said nothing else. It was silent for a few minutes until Narcissa spoke.

"You saved my boy, didn't you, Healer Lupin?" Narcissa said, her voice small as she gently caressed her son's pale skin.

"I tried my best," Dorcas said carefully. She was taken aback when the older witch smiled.

"Thank you. We just saw Snape and he told us everything. If it wasn't because of you…" Narcissa trailed and resumed on caring for her son to hide her emotions.

"Dumbledore has crossed the line," Lucius snarled, his fair features had gone feral in anger. "Three-headed dog, Devil's Snare, enchanted chess set and a troll kept in a _school?_ I find it amazing that there hadn't been any accidents sooner."

"What I don't get is _how_ these kids could find out about Quirrel going after the Stone," Remus said. "I mean, yes, I'll admit that Harry's aware that the Stone is here at Hogwarts. But for him to suspect that there was someone who wanted the Stone, and that someone was _Quirrel,_ I wonder how he found out about it."

"It's Malfoy," a small voice said from the bed on Draco's left. All of the adults' eyes were instantly set on the young redhead who had just woken up. Groaning weakly, Ron Weasley opened his eyes and looked around the room. "My parents aren't here yet?"

"They'll be here in a few hours, dear," Dorcas said, quickly going to his side with a glass of water. "Here, have a drink. You must be thirsty."

"Ron, can you tell us what did you just mean?" Sirius said after the boy had his drink. Ron looked confused for awhile, before realisation dawned on him.

"Oh… Well, last night, Malfoy – I mean, _Draco,_ " Ron quickly amended, his blue eyes landed on Lucius' unfeeling features for a split second before he looked back to Sirius. "Draco came to Harry and he told him that he overheard Snape and Quirrel talking. According to him, Snape was trying to scare of Quirrel from stealing the Stone. And Harry being Harry, decided that it would be best if _we_ went to stop Quirrel ourselves because Dumbledore was away."

"You all never thought of telling a teacher about this?" Remus asked. Dorcas glared at her husband when she saw the boy's ears flushed red.

"We uh… It never crossed our minds, Auror Lupin, because um… We were under the impression that the teachers wouldn't believe if we told them we suspected their collegue of being evil."

"Fair point," Marlene said. She flashed the boy a reassuring smile and said, "It's okay, Ron. No one's blaming you for anything. In fact, we should be _thanking_ you. You were all _so brave._ "

Ron flushed red again as he said, "Uh, yeah… Well, okay then."

"One more thing though, Ron," Sirius said. "From your story, it seemed like the three of you were rather… _civil_ with young Mr Malfoy, yes? I was just wondering how was it that you four got over the school rivalry and decided to _save the world_ together."

"Sirius," Marlene reprimanded, slapping the Head Council's arm.

"What? I was just wondering. And you don't need to be so abusive," Sirius said with a pout. Marlene rolled her eyes at her fiance's childishness.

"I do wonder about the same thing though, Miss McKinnon," Lucius said, who had been silent the whole time, in a manner that reminded Ron of his son. "Draco kept saying about how _annoying_ Harry Potter and his two _friends_ were in his letters, about how they couldn't go a day without yelling at each other. Then, all of the sudden, the four of them ran off playing heroes."

"Well, you should ask your son about it, Mr Malfoy," Ron said bravely, the look on his young face reminded the adults of his late uncles Fabian and Gideon Prewett. "You should ask him why he decided to become a hero all of the sudden, along with why he _saved_ Hermione Granger during Halloween feast."

* * *

 _"Why did you do it, Draco?"_

 _"Why did you help Potter?"_

 _"Why did you save the girl?"_

 _"Why, Draco? Why?"_

 _(I'd answer it if I could, Father.)_

By the time Draco finally woke up, the only pain he felt left was the slight pounding in his head. He had woken up a few times in the past five days he was unconscious, and he was quite aware of his parents coming to visit him the whole time. But, one thing he remembered for sure was seeing a mass of brown curls and the feeling of soft hands holding his own. It didn't take much for him to determine whose curls he saw _(and whose hands were holding his),_ but he dared not to ask _her_ about it. Even when she came to visit Potter, her brown eyes landed on his for a moment before she turned to her best friend, Draco kept silent. Mostly he pretended to be either asleep or too engrossed with the book he was reading when she and Weasley came. At night, when he and Potter were left alone, they never talked to each other. He knew though, judging from the glances Scarhead sent at him, that the Gryffindor was dying to know why Draco had saved him from the troll. But Potter was stubborn as hell, so he too kept silent. Seven days Draco stayed at Hospital Wing with Potter, seeing Gryffindors coming to visit him, and he couldn't help but to feel the slightest bit of envy when he realised the only person, other than his parents, who came to visit was Theo Nott.

 _(And maybe_ her _, but Draco couldn't let his hopes up.)_

When Draco was finally released by Madam Pomfrey to attend the feast, he tried hard not to bother himself too much with the whispers his fellow Slytherins were giving him. As he took his seat beside Theo on Slytherin's table, he noticed how _everyone,_ even others from other Houses, were talking about him. It didn't help that he walked into the Great Hall with Potter by his side. Probably wasn't the smartest move he ever made to come with Potter, who was like a walking sign-board that screamed for attention. He was more than grateful when Theo didn't treat him differently and merely asked whether Draco wanted smoked-beef or chicken to go with his mashed-potato. Looking at Potter sitting with his friends, he found that the other boy was just as comfortable as he was with all the attention he was receiving. A new sense of respect hit Draco because, for the first time ever, he realised that Potter _wasn't_ the public-seeking idiot he had always thought him to be all this time. He probably sensed that Draco was looking at him because the green-eyed lad looked up from his food to look at Draco. A small nod was passed between the two boys, before the both of them turned their attention back to their food. That was when Draco felt someone took a seat beside him.

"Move over a bit, Malfoy. And pass me the chicken, will you?" Blaise Zabini said casually as he busied himself with his food. Draco was at lost for words that he didn't even realise when the dark-skinned boy impatiently snatched the plate of chicken from his hand.

"What are you doing, Zabini?" Theo said warily, a deep frown was set on his face. Both Draco and Theo were so used with Zabini being the loner in their year that to have him sitting with them was mind-boggling for them.

"I am having dinner, Nott. Pretty sure it's allowed," Zabini said, still in the same tone.

"Yeah, well, last time I checked, you eat dinner alone," Theo retorted impatiently. "Something about you being _better_ than everyone else."

"If I don't count you two, I _am_ eating alone," Zabini said, nodding his head to the fact that the three of them had a good distance away from the rest of the Slytherins. "Besides, out of everyone else here, you two are the least annoying lately."

Theo opened his mouth and looked like he was going to say something rude. But one look from Draco, he kept silent. The blonde flashed him a look of gratitude, to which he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. Draco knew that there was a reason Zabini was willing to come out from his solitude and joined them. Whatever his reason was, Draco didn't bother to know. As long as Zabini proved that he wasn't as dumb as everyone else, Draco was willing to ignore Zabini's change of heart. Resuming with their dinner, the three boys were silent even before Dumbledore asked for their attention. It was only then that Draco realised the Hall was decorated in Slytherin colours, a definite sign that they had won the House Cup, again. This lifted his mood up a litte bit, knowing that his House had won. He then listened to Dumbledore reading out the final points; Hufflepuff with three hundred and twenty-three points, Gryffindor with three hundred and seventy-two points, Ravenclaw with four hundred and thirty-seven points, and Slytherin with four hundred and eighty-two points. The whole Slytherin table errupted in cheers, and even Zabini beside Draco was smiling. But the smiles dropped from their faces when Dumbledore began to say that he was giving out points in the light of the recent even.

"Fifty points to Ron Weasley…"

"Fifty points to Hermione Granger…"

"Sixty points to Harry Potter…"

"And ten points to _Neville Longbottom…"_

"He gave _Longbottom_ too?" Theo gritted out, throwing deathly glares toward the Gryffindors who now had beaten Slytherin's points by sixty points.

"Stupid old coot," Zabini muttered under his breath scathingly.

Draco was too _angry_ to even say anything.

"I know that some of you think that this hardly seems fair, right?" Dumbledore continued, and it took great effort for Draco to stop himself to yelling something rude. "That means I'll have to change that. So, I hereby give _sixty_ points to _Draco Malfoy_ for his decision to see past his school rivalry to determine what's right and wrong, and the brilliant skill of magic he showed by defeating a troll."

 _Wait, what?_

"I suppose this will be the _first_ time in a millenia that Hogwarts have _two_ House Cup winners."

Everyone in the Great Hall was silent as they tried to process what Dumbledore was saying. The old wizard was smiling in mischief at every Gryffindor and Slytherin when he waved his hand, wandlessly changing the decorations into both Slytherin _and_ Gryffindor colours. When both Houses, who were located the farthest from each other, finally got over their shock and confusion, a loud cheer that sounded a lot like an explosion erupted from both Houses. If his fellow Slytherins were against him for helping Potter before, now they were swarming him and praising him. It all felt like a dream to him, and he hardly realised whose hand was it that clapped his back, whose voice was it that chanted his name. The rest of the feast was like a blur to him. He didn't really remember what happened next after Dumbledore gave out the points. The next thing he knew Theo and Zabini were leading him back to Slytherin Dungeon, both of their faces were beaming as they talked animatedly about how it was about _damn time_ someone acknowledged Slytherin for other than their dark and evil reputation.

"How did you do it anyway?" Theo asked once the three of them were sitting on the couch in the Common Room. "How did you defeat the troll?"

"I dropped a good portion of the ceiling above me on it," Draco said, careful not to mention the fact that he was unconscious before he did it, and the only reason he was awake was because he heard a certain _someone_ calling out for his name.

" _What?"_ Zabini exclaimed, eyes going so wide it was actually pretty funny. "You dropped the ceiling on top of a troll?"

"Yeah."

"Where were you when you did that?"

"Right in front of it…"

His answer got Theo and Zabini to stare at him as if he grew another head and a tail. Shaking his head in disbelief, Theo said, "Wow, Malfoy. I didn't know you were _such_ a selfless bastard."

"I am _not,"_ Draco huffed, rolling his eyes. After all, he still had a reputation as the world's biggest prick to uphold.

"Well, you could have _died,_ you know," Zabini said, backing Theo up. "And I think that's pretty damn selfless, alright."

The blonde glared at the two boys across him, his old friend and new friend. With Crabbe and Goyle, they'd cower whenever Draco sent them his evil glare. But Theo and Zabini? They merely stared right back at him. Bloody pricks.

"So now you two decided to be friends? That's just _amazing,"_ Draco spat. He lifted himself off the couch and made his way to the boys' dormitory.

"Don't be bitter because we kick you out of the Evil Gentlemen's Club, Draco!" Theo called. Even without looking, Draco knew the two boys were slapping each other's hands with annoying smirks on their ugly faces.

"Yeah," he heard Zabini said. "It's your fault after all for growing a heart in that little cold hole you have in your chest."

"Sod off, you two," Draco said before he disappeared into the dorm.

But even as he began the tedious work of changing into his pajamas, Draco knew that no matter how those two irritated him, he would _never_ trade them for the world. Because, for the first time _ever,_ Draco felt what it was like to have _friends._

( _Those_ _Slytherins didn't do friends. But when they did, they were the closest bunch ever and it would be hard to separate them.)_


	10. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 9

**NOTES:** Wow, this one's rather long and painful to write. I haven't really proof-read, so I'm terribly sorry for the mistake you'd find. I really hope you guys like this chapter. Tell what you think, will you? And good news! Because I'm planning for ten chapters for each of Harry's school year, that means we're a chapter away from part two, which is Harry's second year. Feel free to tell me what do you wish to see during Harry's second year; be it your favourite characters or pairings or whatever. Anyway, happy reading!

* * *

Sirius liked to think that he was the closest with Harry. That was a fact anyway, seeing that he spent so much time with the kid more than anyone else in the house did. Even when James and Lily were still alive, being Harry's Godfather, Sirius took it upon himself to be the one whom Harry felt the most comfortable with, other than his parents. People often thought that the reason he was so close with Harry was because he saw James in the little boy. That was wrong though. Sirius knew _perfectly_ who he was talking to because Harry _wasn't_ James – and that wasn't a bad thing. Harry was his own person, and Sirius was proud to call him _his_ boy. So, when Harry started to distance himself from Sirius, and everyone else in the house, it didn't take Sirius long to realise that something was wrong with Harry. The moment they all ( _yes, including Regulus and his family)_ picked the boy up at King's Cross, Sirius had felt something different about him. The green-eyed boy actually looked like he _preferred_ to be at Hogwarts instead. Sirius would be lying if he said that didn't hurt. He had been raising Harry all his life, and he had long considered the boy his own kid. After the whole thing with the Sorcerer's Stone, Sirius realised just how much he _missed_ his little Prongslet. He had asked Moony whether the werewolf knew what was wrong with their boy, but Remus merely said that Sirius should ask Harry himself. He was well aware that Remus was right, like he always was about _everything_ else. Sirius should have talked to Harry. Why didn't he do so then? Because Sirius was an _idiot_ , that was why. Throw him into a swarm of Death Eaters and dark creatures, he'd probably come out alive and unscathed. But when it came to talking? Especially when it involved feelings? Sirius was _dumb._ Nevertheless, after Marlene literally nudged him ( _violently_ ) to go talk to their Godson, he finally relented. Besides, there was _nothing_ Sirius wouldn't do for Harry.

That was how the Auror ended up in front of his Godson's room, three days after the boy returned for his summer.

"Fawn? Can I come in?" Sirius said as he knocked on Harry's door.

"…Okay. Yeah, sure," came Harry's answer after awhile.

When Sirius got inside the room, he found Harry sitting on the foot of his bed, eyes on the framed-picture of James and Lily. In the picture, James was behind Lily, hugging his beloved wife who was holding their newborn son. Eyeing his Godson closely, Sirius silently marveled how the boy looked _exactly_ like Prongs did all those years ago, back when Sirius himself and James were around Harry's age. For a moment, Sirius was thrown back into the past as he remembered all the nights he spent at Potter house-hold when he couldn't stand it anymore at his own home. By the time they entered their third year of friendship, the Potters had instanlled another bed in James' room because of how Sirius would practically spend the whole summer at the their home. Sirius remembered how the late Fleamont Potter taught Sirius to play chess because his own son was a hopeless case, or all the hours Sirius spent helping Euphemia cooking for dinner because both her husband and son would only burn her kitchen instead of helping her. A small smile escaped Sirius when the memory of him running around the Potter household with James after every dinner up until they were thirteen, which later changed into smoking on the rooftop starting the summer of their fourth year. Taking a deep breath as he pulled himself back into the present, Sirius took a seat beside Harry, feeling a little awkward for _being_ awkward. They were silent for a couple minutes, Sirius was wondering what he should say while Harry's attention was all set on the picture in his hands. It was until Sirius caught Harry's hand started to tremble that he realised he should have had this talk _ages_ ago.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Sirius said gently. "You've been awfully weird this past few days. And don't lie to me saying that it's nothing. I _know_ you, kid. And I'm worried about you. So, will you _please_ tell this old man what's wrong?"

"It's… It's stupid, really," Harry began, turning his head to look at one of the many Quidditch posters all over his wall. "I just… You would probably laugh at me if I tell you."

"I won't. I promise," Sirius said quickly without hesitance.

"Really?" Harry said, the look in his eyes reminded Sirius of someone else's twenty years ago.

 _("I promise I won't tell anyone, Evans.")_

 _("Oh, really, Black?")_

 _("Well, don't you trust me then?")_

 _("This must sound crazy, but I actually do.")_

"Really." Sirius waited patiently for what felt like hours until Harry opened his mouth and the word-vomit came profusely.

"I was jealous of Payne," Harry said truthfully, his green eyes were suddenly pained and very child-like again. "For years, it was only you and me, Sirius. Well, sometimes Moony and the ladies were there too. But most of the time, it was you and me. And I know, it's very unfair of me because Marlene had been dreaming for a baby for years. But, every time I see you making faces at Payne, or when Marlene is busy entertaining her, that's when I feel _so alone_. I realise that I'm _not_ your kid. I'm just a boy who you adopted because you were best friends with my parents."

 _("I feel like I'm imposing you and your family, James. I mean, I won't be surprised if one day your parents decided that I better kick myself out of the house.")_

 _("Bloody hellp, Padfoot, you're_ such _a drama queen. Pretty sure my parents love you more than they love me, so shut up.")_

"No," Sirius said firmly, his tone seemed to surprise the teenager from the way he jumped a bit. "You are more than that. You're not just a kid I adopted because Prongs and Lily were my best friends. Harry, you're _my_ kid. You were right when you said that for years, it'd been you and me. And it doesn't change, kid. You're still my son, with or without Payne. I love you, even if you're not the product of me banging my Marley."

The whole time he spoke, Harry was silent. There was a look of disbelief was on his face. It was if he doubted the love and affection Sirius felt for him. But when the Auror reached the end of his speech, Harry's green eyes were filled with tears as he let out a soft chuckle. Sirius knew he'd said the right thing, so he grabbed Harry's hand and continued. "Harry, I want you to know that even if Marlene and I had a thousand kids after Payne, you will _always_ be my son. You were here first before Payne for _years._ And me having Payne or other kids doesn't mean I'd be kicking you aside. And the same goes for Marlene, or Remus and Doe when he finally knocks her up. We _are_ your parents, even if we're not biologically related to you. Whatever happens, we'll _always_ be here for you. Really, you shouldn't be worried that we'd going to cast you aside anytime soon. Fawn, you're stuck with us till the end of time. Once a Marauder-"

"-always a Marauder," Harry finished, hugging Sirius tightly as the older man hugged him back. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I was so, _so_ stupid."

"You were scared, and it was normal," Sirius said, patting Harry's back softly. "I understand perfectly. But, next time, I want you to talk to me, okay? Or Remus or whoever you feel comfortable to talk about this. Just…say something, yes? Don't keep us in the dark."

"I promise, this will be the last time. And I want you to know that I love you too, Sirius. You were a too much sometimes, but you were _always_ there for me."

"Aw, look, I got dust in my eyes," Sirius laughed, wiping the tears that leaked from his eyes. He was glad when Harry laughed along with him. He put an arm around the boy's shoulder and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, let's have dinner. The women have cooked us something delicious."

Walking side by side, Sirius and Harry went down to have dinner with their family. Everyone else was already down there by the time they got there. Remus was engaged in a serious conversation with Regulus about Order related stuffs, and the two quickly shut up when they saw Sirius coming with Harry, changing their conversation into discussions about how things were in the Muggle world lately. Sirius' and Regulus' girls, Payne and Astrid, were lying in their respective cribs while their mothers were cooking with Dorcas, giggling adorably as the asigned Elf was entertaining the two babies until their mothers came. Ever since Regulus came to see Sirius, the older Black had decided that it'd be for the best for Regulus to stay with him, lest any ex-Death Eaters were hunting him down. At first, Regulus was reluctant because he didn't want people to think he was depending his and his family's life on Sirius. But after he listened to Sirius' reasoning that his family might be in danger if he kept on living with the Muggles, he relented. Just a week after the two brothers held the press conference, Sirius prepared the rooms for Regulus and his family. They'd been living together for five months, and to say that thing had gone smoothly would be a _lie_. For one thing, the last time the two of them lived under the same roof was sixteen years ago. Therefore, they'd more or less forgotten each other's annoying quirks. Sirius had _totally_ forgotten Regulus' annoying habit of waking up in the middle of the night to have late-night snacks. Being a light sleeper, Sirius found it maddening whenever he heard the sound of Regulus' footsteps coming down to the kitchen, waking him up from his deep slumber. Then there was also the fact that the brothers always found it hard to agree on _anything_ to eat for dinner. Lucky for them their wives were very understanding and willing to cook two _absolute_ different menu for the both of them.

At first, everyone found it amusing to find the two full-grown brothers fought like they were teenagers. But after the _fifteenth_ time they fought in the _six weeks_ Regulus and his family lived with Sirius, it started to get on everyone's nerves. Marlene was the first one to snap, obviously. The woman actually threatened to kick both Blacks out of the house so they'd sleep in the garden. Judging from the look on Irina's face, Sirius knew that the only reason the nurse refrained herself from loudly proclaiming her support toward Marlene's decision was because of how she feared to offend Sirius. But the woman, even though she still jumped about a foot in the air every time an Elf popped out of thin air, soon found her place among every occupant at the Black Manor. Albeit being five years younger than Marlene and Dorcas, they'd become best friends in no time. She was also starting to get used to magic, which was amazing in Sirius' opinion. He hadn't talked much with the woman, but she was growing on him. The fact that she'd changed his brother and made him happy would always be the reason why Sirius accepted her into his family with opened arms. Albeit yelling at each other for almost every day, Sirius cared about his brother a great deal, and vice versa.

When Harry was first introduced to Regulus, the boy seemed rather wary of his Godfather's brother. Sirius rarely spoke about his 'dead' brother to Harry, and to see the man that they'd all believed to be dead for so long was a jarring for the little boy. But, he got over it rather quick. Even though he was avoiding everyone, Harry was still very polite toward Regulus and Irina. When the boy found out that Regulus was a Seeker too, despite being rather moody, Sirius could see that Harry was _dying_ to interrogate his younger brother. Sirius had told Regulus to be tactful with Harry, and his brother assured him that he would do so. As Sirius took his usual seat on Remus' other side, he watched Harry cautiously took his seat beside Regulus. At first, his Godson kept to himself, sending curt glances toward his brother. But after awhile, Regulus realised that there was someone who had been trying to get his attention. It started out a little awkward, with Regulus asking how was Quidditch. With head bowed down, Harry replied by saying that because he was unable to participate in the game, Slytherin won the game. Much to Sirius' amazement, Regulus made an effort to cheer Harry up, and added some suggestions for the next game. Sirius remembered how Regulus was always so much better with kids, and judging from how quickly Harry fell in a comfortable conversation, it proved that Regulus' charm worked on Harry as well. It put a huge smile on Sirius' face to see his brother and his Godson talking so easily with each other, the fact that they'd just met a few days prior seemed to be forgotten.

"Oh great, you're here already," Marlene said as she entered the dining room with Dorcas and Irina. Both she and the Healer had their wands aimed at the plates of food behind them.

"Did it usually take them long to get here, Mar?" Regulus asked with a grin, and both Black brothers were brought back to the memories of their mother yelling for the both of them to get down quickly every dinner.

"You wouldn't believe it, Reg," Marlene sighed dramatically, throwing herself on her usual seat beside Sirius after she was done preparing all the food on the table. "These two gentleman with Mr Two-Face over there have absolute no control when they're too busy playing their Quidditch toys."

"They're not toys, Marlene!" Harry, Sirius and Remus exclaimed at the same time, having had the same argumentation countless times before. "They're limited edition figurines!"

"They're labelled for _children age_ _ten_ ," Dorcas deadpanned, backing up her best friend once she'd made sure everyone had something on their plates. "Pretty sure when something are meant for someone bellow the age of fifteen, they're called _toys."_

"But it's different when it comes to Quidditch figurines," Regulus said, winking toward Harry who beamed widely. Sirius and Remus laughed out loud at the scowl on Marlene's and Dorcas' faces.

"Should have known you'd back them up," Marlene snapped. "You and that annoying _jerk_ are related, after all."

"What is Quidditch?" Irina inquired. She was enjoying her dinner, although she kept an eye on the Elf that was still taking care of her daughter.

"Quidditch is a sport game," Regulus answered. "It's a little bit like football where the players have to score the ball into the goal-posts, only we're riding brooms. There are seven players; three Chasers to score, a Keeper to stop the other team from scoring, two Beaters to beat away or knock the other players using, and also a Seeker whose job is to seek a special ball that is worth a hundred and fifty points."

"You can come to my next game and see it yourself, if you want to," Harry added, smiling shyly toward the nurse. "It'll be easier to understand when you see it."

"Am I…am I allowed to?" Irina said, glancing toward her husband then toward Sirius. For some reason, whenever she was unsure about something, the girl would _always_ look toward Sirius.

And whenever she did that, when those big blue eyes landed on his grey ones, Sirius couldn't help but to be reminded of a pair of big _green_ eyes looking toward him with a hopeful look in those uncanny eyes the last time he saw _her._

"You're _family_ ," Sirius said, smiling toward the younger woman. "Both you and Reggie are _our_ family. So, yes, of course, you're allowed."

 _("You're asking me to tag along on your meet-the-parents dinner? Are you sure about that, Lil? I mean, I know I can get a bit obnoxious, but I do know there are some lines that I'm_ not _to cross.")_

 _("Don't be an idiot, Sirius. You're_ family. _And we do need some extra help in case Tuney's bloated whale of a fiance starts to pick a fight with James.")_

* * *

It had been five months since his return from the dead, and even though he missed his small yet warm home, Regulus did like living with his brother. It wasn't about the luxury though. It was more about the fact that he had his brother back. When Sirius walked out of their parents' house all those years ago, a part of Regulus _hated_ his brother for leaving him behind. That was probably one of the many reasons why he decided to become a Death Eater. It was like a sign of rebellion toward the brother that he thought had abandoned him. Regulus was a rational man, and he was also a firm believer of being the captain of his own fate. He was grateful though that there was some higher power out there that had intervened with his life, setting him on the right path again and giving him a second chance to right all his wrong. Sometimes he had horrible nightmares of him dying in the cave and watching his brother from the after life as the _great_ Sirius Black was sent to prison after he was accused of becoming the reason of the Potters' death. The dreams were so vivid sometime, often times it would wake him up even from his deepest slumber. Regulus then would reach around for Irina, who readily snuggled closer into his arms, and then he would lie awake in his bed for hours as he tried to calm himself. He was aware that his life wasn't perfect, not even close. But the alternative, where he died and Irina was not a part of his life, where his brother was a convicted murderer and little Harry lived a horrible and unloved life? That was _much_ too horrible.

"Hey, you," he heard Irina called out as she entered their room. "I've been looking for you."

"Hi," Regulus said, opening his arms so his wife could settle against his chest. "How was shopping with the ladies?"

There was going to be a big dinner to celebrate Regulus' return, as was custormary in the Pureblood tradition when they wanted to introduce (or in REgulus' case, _re-introduce)_ a family member. Originally, both Regulus and Sirius didn't want to do it. They thought they'd done enough with the press conference. But a lot of the Council members of the Sacretd Twenty Eight agreed that it would be beneficial to hold a dinner, saying that by doing so, Sirius could show to the rest of the world how Regulus was under his care and that _anyone_ who dared to mess with Regulus and his family was going to face _the_ Sirius Black as the leader of the Sacreds. That was the only reason Sirius and Regulus changed their minds. Thus, after much debate, Sirius allowed the ladies to go on shopping for dresses. He did have three Elves to follow them, so Regulus could breath in relief at the thought of his wife roaming around London without him.

"It was great," Irina said, grinning. "Mar and Doe took me to Madam Malkin's. I didn't have much girl friends growing up – or _any_ at all. I was always the weird girl back at school."

"You and me both," Regulus said with a small smile. He leaned onto her so he could give her a kiss. "If it's any consolation to you, I didn't have friends too. I don't know how much you've learned from Marlene and Dorcas, but in the Pureblood society, we only have acquiantances for political benefits. Like, people only wanted to be friends with me after they found out who I was."

"It must be hard growing up for you," Irina said, her hand reaching up to caress his face softly. "I mean, I didn't have friends because people saw me as this weird girl who hated parties and looked down toward girls who threw themselves at boys. But you? You had acquiantances instead of friends, and you had to pick them carefully."

"I have you now though, and that's what important. The past hardly matters when the present is _so_ much more appealing. Yes, the road I took for me to get here wasn't easy, and things were hard for me at first. But I have you and Astrid _and_ my brother."

Astrid took his hand and let him onto their bed. With her free hand, she gathered his other hand together. She trailed the lines in his palms, and Regulus watched her with absolute fascination. He truly couldn't picture his life without her.

"Well, I better go get ready, okay?" Irina said after awhile. "Big night tonight."

"I'd rather us spend it here in our room," Regulus replied with a cheeky grin. Irina rolled her eyes at her husband's childishness, knowing _exactly_ what he had in mind.

"Your brother will kill you if you choose to ditch him tonight. After all, he did all this for you."

"He's gone through events like these for all his life. I think he'll be able to come up with an excuse if I really choose to stay here with you." His grin widening, Regulus leaned closer to kiss Irina, one hand cupping the back of Irina's head while the other had wrapped itself around her waist.

"Regulus!" Irina giggled, pushing Regulus away with a hand on his face. "We can't do this!"

"Yeah, listen to your woman, Reg!" Sirius yelled from outside of the room, his voice thick with humour. "Don't make me come in there and drag you out myself, brother!"

"Oh, sod off, Sirius!" Regulus yelled. He had the sudden and overwhelming urge to blast his brother through the door.

"Naughty, naughty," Sirius said as he started to walk away, his annoying chuckles were still heard even though he'd gone. Annoyed that his time with his wife had been disturb, Regulus buried his head into the crook of Irina's neck and groaned immaturely like a child.

"Come on, husband mine; you heard your brother," Irina said. She gave a peck on Regulus' forehead before she went into the bathroom to get ready.

"Someday, I'm going to kill him and you _cannot_ stop me," Regulus called to his wife. The woman merely stuck her tongue out at him and disappeared into the bathroom.

The next two hours till the so-called dinner were spent with Regulus hanging out with Sirius and Remus in the kitchen, dreading the moment when the Elves would start to announce guests. The temptation not to drink themselves to oblivion was to hard to resist, but fortunately _(or unfortunately)_ Remus was there to stop the brothers from doing anything stupid. Just a minute after Irina went into the bathroom, the door was knocked loudly by Marlene and Dorcas, who later _demanded_ on Regulus to leave the room so them ladies could start on the painful and tedious process of primping themselves. The younger Black had made a mistake on commenting that the girls took the party too seriously ( _"Stop with the puns, for Merlin's sake!" his brother had hollered from downstairs) –_ to which Marlene replied with a viscious glare as she spat that it was easy for Regulus to say so, seeing that men did not need to do much work to look perfect. Regulus had thought that Marlene was going to kill him right then and there. Lucky for him, Mrs Lupin was as much of a blessing as her husband was, and she was quick enough to usher Marlene into the room before the other woman could hex Regulus into bits. Sirius looked at him in sympathy when he complained to him about Marlene, telling him that he was lucky not to get hexed. That was how the three men of the house waited for their significant others to get ready in absolute boredom. At least the kids were there to keep them entertained as they watched Harry trying ( _and failing)_ to teach Payne and Astrid to stop poking at his glasses.

The first guest arrived just minutes after the door to Regulus' room was opened, revealing the ladies of the house stepping out in their own respective dresses. Dorcas was the first to get out, dressed in a breath-taking blue dress that matched her eyes. She was looking at her husband nervously, wringing her fingers together. But, even though Regulus was blind toward other woman's beauty other than his wife's, he could tell that Dorcas had _nothing_ to worry about. Judging from the dumbstruck look on Remus' face, the man probably had a hard time to stop himself from going all caveman and swooped his petite Healer into his room – which was _unlike_ Regulus' brother. The moment Marlene came out behind Dorcas, wearing a bold red dress that clung to her effortlessly as if she hadn't just given birth a few months prior, Sirius looked like he was just half _an inch_ from dragging the woman into his own room. The look in the older Black's eyes screamed out all the inappropriate thoughts he had in his mind, one of them surely was about how he preferred Marlene _out_ of the dress. Regulus was just about to laugh at both Aurors' face, but was forced to swallow it down when he saw his own _angel._ Irina was dressed in a silver dress that shimmered every time she moved and the glitters on it caught the lights. In his eyes, Irina was always the most beautiful woman in the whole universe. But he really had to admit that right at that moment, the only time Irina looked even prettier was during their wedding day.

"Well?" Dorcas said for herself and the other two ladies. She gave a little twirl with a shy smile. "What do you think, boys? How do we look?"

It was until Harry had answered with a little sneaky grin on his young face that Regulus realised how he, his brother and Remus had gone stupid and began to stutter words that couldn't be English.

"You all look amazing, Doe," Harry said kindly. "And if you don't believe me, these three _intelligent_ men's reactiong should be proved enough."

"Aw, you're too nice, dear," Marlene said, ruffling her Godson's hair affectionately. Turning to her fiance, she rolled her eyes though the way she beamed couldn't betray the joy she felt upon the reaction she saw on Sirius. "And how are you, love? You're doing alright?"

When Sirius opened his mouth, Regulus was damn sure what he'd said _definitely_ wasn't English.

"I'm sorry? Didn't catch that," Marlene said with a smirk.

Blinking his eyes a thousand times, Sirius took a deep breath and finally said, "Let's just say that if we weren't in the company of children, I'd do something _really inappropriate_ right now to you."

"Ew, Sirius," Harry said, scrunching his face in his disgust. He put his hand on the twin-cart where the girls were lying and began to push into the ballroom, shaking his head dramatically at his Godfather.

"Remus, are you alright?" Dorcas asked, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder. Sirius snickered as he looped his hand around Marlene's.

"It seems dear Moony is in a bit of shock, Doe," Sirius laughed before he followed Harry and the girls into the ballroom.

"I hate him," Remus finally said once his out of his trance-like state. Regulus nodded his head at Remus' statement, understanding perfectly what the werewolf meant.

"You and me both, Remus. You and me both," Regulus said.

"Well, we better get in then," Dorcas said, a huge smile on her face. It was clear that she was extremely pleased at how she managed to stunt the ever calm and collected Remus Lupin. "Even with Marlene with him, I still don't feel it's save to leave the kids alone with Sirius."

"Yeah, lest he manages to convince Harry to ask the Elves to start some firework-show in front of the guests," Remus agreed. Waving a hand, Remus led his wife into the ballroom.

"What about you, Mr Black?" Irina said once they were alone. She took a step closer toward Regulus until they were less than an inch apart. "What do you think of my dress?"

"Darling," Regulus started, careful not to ruin Irina's make up when he kissed her. "I'll let you know that my brother isn't the only with naughty intentions at the moment."

"Naughty boy," Irina giggled. "But, since you've been _such_ a good boy, I think I'll give you a reward after we're done with this party."

Regulus laughed at her words. "That's one of the way to get me looking forward to having this whole thing done and over with. I guess we'll have to get in then, Mrs Black. Can't have the guests waiting for _me,_ now, right?"

Still chuckling, the couple went into the ballroom, arms linked around each other. Sirius had briefed them all in the morning that there would be at least a hundred guests coming, not counting the possible reporters and plus-ones ( _or twos)_ that might tag along. Being the raised as the son of Head Council of the Sacred Twenty Eight, Regulus and Sirius knew what to expect when guests were to come. Regulus could guess same thing went for Marlene, who was a Pureblood too. But for Remus and Dorcas, who were raised half-bloods, he understood their stiff composures. He could only imagine what Irina was feeling, seeing that she was a Muggle. When the bell rang, signaling them of the first guest, Regulus felt Irina's grip around his hand tightened. He had no idea what his wife had learned about the Pureblood society from Marlene and Dorcas, but seeing that worried look on her face, Regulus could tell it wasn't anything pleasant. The first ones to arrive were, _of course,_ the Malfoys. Lucius was dressed in his best robes, a mask of impenetrable indifference on his face as he moved further into the house with his arm around his wife, Regulus' and Sirius' cousin Narcissa, while their son Draco was tailing behind him. He politely shook each other their hands, though he did have the decency to look a bit uncomfortable in front of Marlene. Sirius had told Regulus about the Head Malfoy's attempt to poison Marlene and the baby. Looking at the man now, Regulus began to wonder what was Lucius thinking when he sent the pie to Marlene, and he would probably go all blunt and ask him about it, if he hadn't seen the _very_ visible disgust flashed in those unfeeling grey eyes when Irina gave him her hand.

"Reggie, don't," Sirius said from under his breath. The older Black, who had been standing not far from Regulus, was quick to stop his younger brother's hand from reaching for his wand. "Don't do anything stupid now. Not here."

"Did you see what he just did?" Regulus hissed, glaring at the back for Lucius' head as the man was shaking Remus' hand after he decided _not_ to take Irina's hand. "He very well just _insulted_ my wife and myself when he did that."

"I understand perfectly, Regulus. But _this_ is a party in your honor. That means we can't have you killing the second most powerful Sacreds after myself. Rita Skeeter would have a field day."

"To hell with that wretched wench. That bastard was the reason I got involved with Voldemort in the first place."

Regulus realised it a moment too late that he had said something he had _sworn_ to never say out loud, much less to his brother. Even though they had their moments where they'd almost kill each other, Regulus had never witnessed a moment where pure and unadulterated rage crossed Sirius' handsome face. The moment the words left Regulus' mouth, he actually had to refrain himself from flinching at the murderous look on Sirius' face. His brother was always popular for his temper, but only then did Regulus understand _why._ He was half-expecting Sirius to kill Lucius, but it seemed like the man had other things in mind. He squeezed Regulus' shoulder, worldlessly making a promise that he'd make things right, and then went off to greet the next guests. Most of the guests who came were the elite Purebloods and Ministry officials, and that meant Regulus had to go through the unbearable _pain_ of watching his wife lowering her hand when people rejected her handshake. Out of the a hundred-something guests coming, Regulus could count with _one hand_ how many had actually taken Irina's hand genuinely because they really wanted to know her and _not_ because of the glare Sirius threw from across the room. He felt immensely grateful when Arthur and Molly Weasley greeted Irina with more than the usual dose of formal politeness and with kindness instead. Regulus thought he was going to die in guilty and shame when Augusta Longbottom, whose son and daughter-in-law had been tortured into insanity by his fellow Death Eaters, didn't even blink as she shook Irina's hand with one hand while the other gently held his wife's shoulder. The former Slytherin had never felt _lower_ than he was at that moment.

The dinner went on smoothly after everyone had arrived _(Minister Fudge, that idiot pig, was the last one to arrive)._ Food was served continuously, no matter how much those greedy lot had. For most of the time, Regulus kept quiet as he sat between his wife and his brother. A lot of people tried to talk to him, but Sirius and Marlene were always quick to answer it for him. He wasn't blind though, nor was he deaf. He _knew_ people talked about his wife. He saw them pointing their rude and filthy fingers at Irina, heard how they looked down upon the fact that he'd married a Muggle when even his wayward and rebellious older brother kept the tradition and married a Pureblood. As the hours passed, it was getting harder for Regulus to keep his temper in check. The only reason he managed to stop himself from exploding was the feeling of Irina's comforting hand on his own, and the assuring smile she gave him. He felt horrible for subjecting her into this horrible even where everyone looked down on her. When someone made another not-so-subtle jab about Irina, Regulus was going to snap when Sirius beat him to it.

"Mr Thicknesse," Sirius said loudly as he forcefully pushed his brother into his seat. "I see that you, and probably everyone else here, have made it _habit_ tonight to say things about my _sister-in-law._ "

The tone Sirius had taken, cold and calculative, chilled even _Regulus._ Sirius threw a look to each one of his guest, his grey eyes were menacing. The sweet yet humourless smile on his face was enough to remind everyone of Sirius' status as the only man, other than the Prime Minister, who had a say in the fate of the British Wizarding World. That _wanker_ Thicknesse seemed to realise his mistake, and made a hasty effort to correct himself.

"I am sorry, Master Black, but I was just – "

"Need I to remind you that you are all _my_ guest here? I invited you to my _house,_ and have you eating my _food_ so all of us can celebrate my brother's return. I didn't ask for anything in return except for you to _respect_ my family. And you, _Pius,_ just because you got promoted, thought that you had the _right_ to talk about my brother and his wife? Were you really that _thick_?"

If he wasn't so stunned with Sirius' display of defending himself and Irina, Regulus would have laughed at Sirius' little pun.

"I actually didn't want to hold this dinner. I _hate_ stuffy events like these. But now, after I see how you've been treating my family, I know that I've made the right choice. So, I hereby bestow my protection unto my brother Regulus Black and his _Muggle_ wife Irina, and also their _half-blood_ daughter Astrid. _I_ will personally see to it that my brother and his family are going to be treated well. You all know of what I'm capable to do. So, if any of you have brilliant ideas on making Regulus' life or his family's life hell, you better believe it when I say I'll come knocking to your down and make _your_ life hell."

When no one said anything else, a portion of Sirius' murderous look decreased as a look of triumphant took over. Leaning into his seat, Sirius said, "Now that we all have an understanding, let's enjoy the delicious ice cream my Elves have prepared."


	11. FIRST YEAR: Chapter 10

**NOTES:** Final chapter of the first part! Next chapter will be about Harry's second year, woohoo! By the way, I'm now on holiday (well, I've been on holiday for the past three months) so it'll probably take more time for me to update. And I'm TOTALLY convinced the hotel I'm staying at is haunted. I just hope when I meet the ghosts, at least they'd look like Tate Langdon lol :D Anyway, here's the last chapter for Harry's first year. Wish me luck so I don't murdered or anything, okay? :P

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy was every bit the Pureblood she was raised to be. She was always dressed impeccably, she memorised _perfectly_ the proper etiquette as a Pureblood lady who was part of the elite society, she could tell which one was real diamonds even from ten feet away. When she met someone knew, it took Narcissa less than five minutes to determine whether they were Purebloods or half-bloods or _filthy scum._ But there was more than that to be a _proper_ Pureblood. She knew that there were other values that she had to uphold. When Narcissa was just a little girl, not older than seven ( _back when she had_ all _of her sisters),_ she remembered her late Grandmother Black told her that the _most_ important of being a Pureblood was that her loyalty lied, first and foremost, to the honorable Black family. The old woman said that even when Narcissa was married to another Pureblood, no matter how respectable the man was, she should never forget that she was _forever_ a Black. No matter what happened, she must _not_ turn her back on her _true_ relatives because family was the only thing that mattered in the world when all else was ruined and torn apart.

"And you three," old Grandma Black had said a month before her death, her grey eyes were looking seriously at Narcissa and her sisters. "You musn't let _anything_ get in your way. We Black women are _always_ stronger than our men, and that scares people. In the future, your sisterhood will be tested. Men will try to tear you three apart because when you stand alone, you are weak. But if you remember our values, it should not matter."

Naturally, just like everything else in her life, things didn't go as she wished it did.

When Narcissa was sixteen, her older sister Andromeda walked out of their house after their parents made her to choose between her family or her then-fiance Ted Tonks. It had been two decades since the last time she saw Andy.

When Narcissa was twenty-six, her oldest sister Bellatrix was sent to Azkaban for torturing Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom to the point of insanity. It had been a decade since the last time she saw Bella.

She knew that she was slowly losing her family. _She knew that._ She wished she could do anything to change what had happened, but unless she could get hold of a Time-Turner, there was nothing that she could do to make things right again. Narcissa wasn't a fool, unlike what Bellatrix always believed her to be. She was actually quite bright. She was aware that the reason her family was breaking apart was because of the _stupid_ prejudice war the world had. A part of her wanted to _change_ her views because now she understood that because of it, she lost her sisters. But it was hard to change something that had been ingrained into her brain since she was born. The fact that she was married to one of the Dark Lord's biggest supporter certainly wasn't making things easy. Yes, Lucius had managed to wriggle his way out of the jail-time, but he was still the same Dark Arts prince that stole her heart, the same prejudiced bigot who had given her flowers when she cried over Andromeda's departure. Oh, Narcissa _hated_ Lucius for being a Death Eater. She hated that because of his relations to all those dark wizards, the whole world thought so little of her family other than the evil megalomaniac people believed them to be. She hated every evil things he did under the Dark Lord's command. But deep down, she knew the Lucius she had fallen in love with, the man who winked at her after he hexed Bellatrix's hair green during a Pureblood party, was still there somewhere. That side of Lucius had never left. It only made an appearance when they were alone in the safety of their chambers.

She should hate Lucius, her Grandma would tell her to do that. But how could she hate the man that she truly loved? How could she leave the man who had given her beautiful and brilliant son?

 _(I understand now, Andy. I do. I truly do. And I'm_ really _sorry_.)

When Draco was born, Narcissa thought that she had never seen a babe as beautiful as the one she was holding in her arms. The moment the tiny little thing opened his grey eyes, she knew that there was _nothing_ she wouldn't do for him. She watched proudly as Draco grew to be a brilliant boy who spoke before his first birthday, and had started walking just a few months later. She showered the boy with love and affection that most Pureblood parents seemed to neglect on showing. She might have spoiled him a little too much, but that wasn't what worried the most. As Draco got older, she noticed that the boy got closer and closer to his father. It wasn't like Lucius had never cared for his son before. No, it was actually quite the contrary. Ever since Draco's birth, Narcissa had always felt like she was _competing_ against her husband for Draco's love. Lately, she felt like her beloved son was getting distanced from her as Lucius introduced him to the outside world. Father and son would go together on little trips after dinner, and every time they got back, Narcissa saw something in her son's eyes that she had _never_ seen before. She saw _cruelty,_ and the fact that the emotion got even more pronounced scared Narcissa. The beautiful woman had been silent for a long time. She had let everything happened without lifting a finger to stop or change anything. But now that her son was involved, she realised that she had to do _something._ Narcissa knew she had to do something lest her son would follow the dark path her sister and husband had gone through.

And _that_ was the reason why she found herself at St Mungo's a week after her cousin Regulus' return party, standing right in front of Healer Lupin's office when most of the staffs had gone home.

"Come in," Narcissa heard the Healer called from her office at the sound of her knocking. Taking a deep breath, the Malfoy lady got in.

"Evening, Healer Lupin," she greeted formally, giving a small smile when Dorcas Lupin lifted her head up and looked really shocked to find Narcissa there.

"Mrs Malfoy," Lupin said, composing herself quickly once she got over her shock. There still was a bit of a frown on her face though.

"I'm sorry for not reserving an appointment before. I wish I hadn't interrupted you from your work or something," Narcissa said as she took the seat across Lupin. The petite Healer shook her head.

"Not at all, Mrs Malfoy. I was about to head home, but I think I still have sometime before my husband sends out a search party for me." Narcissa knew the other woman meant it as a joke, so she tried to give a small laugh in return, albeit forced.

"My son talked a lot about you, you know," Narcissa said, remembering Draco's rare show of admiration toward someone who _wasn't_ his father. "He told me how good you were toward him after- _during_ his…stay at the Hospital Wing. He appreciated the fact that you treated him just as you did your Godson. And I'm forever _grateful_ for your help."

"I was only doing my job, Mrs Malfoy," Lupin said. "And although Draco had the tendency to exaggerate a _little_ , it really didn't bother me. It was rather funny, actually."

"Draco's dramatic flares come from the Black family," Narcissa offered good-naturedly. She was glad when the other witch laughed, knowing that her cousin Sirius must have showed the same childish tantrums her son did when the Auror was hurt.

"Oh yes, I believe so," Lupin chuckled, her eyes twinkled fondly. They fell into a comfortable silent for awhile until Narcissa decided that she really shouldn't stall lest Auror Lupin would _really_ send his men to find his wife.

"Well, I'm here to talk about something really important, Healer Lupin." Narcissa stopped, glancing at the beautiful wedding ring Lucius had slipped around her finger fourteen years prior.

 _("My love, what's wrong? Tell me.")_

"About what, Mrs Malfoy?"

 _("Lucius? Lucius, please.")_

"I'm here to talk about the poisoned pies my husband sent to your friend Miss Marlene."

All the warmth and humour dropped from Lupin's face, replaced by something harsh that didn't fit the petite witch at all. Leaning onto her seat, Lupin's blue eyes stared at Narcissa long and hard before she finally spoke. "Why did he do that?"

 _Why indeed, Healer Lupin._

"You are aware of my husband's involvement in the First War, right?" Narcissa began with a rethorical question. "Now, we all know how Lucius convinced the Ministry that he was under the Imperius Curse the whole. I believe that, seeing who your husband is, you know Lucius lied."

"I know that, Mrs Malfoy. And you're right; Remus told me _everything_ about his and Sirius' suspicion toward your husband's shoddy past."

"Then you'll understand that when I say that my husband did what he did because he heard _rumours_ the Dark Lord was coming back. The way he saw it, the only way the Dark Lord wouldn't kill _us_ was by _hurting_ Sirius Black."

 _("I've done something horrible, Cissy.")_

"How did Mr Malfoy know Voldemort was coming back?" Lupin asked smartly. "I'm assuming that he knew Voldemort was after the Stone with Quirrel's help. How did your husband find out about it?"

Narcissa loved Lucius. She truly did love him.

But, she knew her priorities. She always did.

It didn't mean what she was going to do didn't break her heart though.

"I promise I'll tell you everything I know about Lucius and everything he did," Narcissa said, feeling her heart racing. "But you have to promise me that you will _not_ tell your husband or my cousin that I'm your source of information. And please, _don't_ come after him. If you capture Lucius, he'll know that I've betrayed him."

"Why? Is he going to hurt you then?" Lupin said, the look on her face looked angry at the thought that Lucius might hurt her. It amused Narcissa that the other woman cared for her well-being.

"No, Lucius will never hurt me. He _is_ bad, but he loves his family too much to hurt us. No, I was afraid that if he finds out, that means the rest of _them_ will find out too. And when _they_ do…" Narcissa trailed, the thought was too much for her to utter out loud.

"I see…" Lupin said. "Well, I'll see what I can do, Mrs Malfoy. And oh, I hope you're not offended when I ask this, but do you want _anything_ else in exchange for the information you'll be giving us?"

Narcissa stiffened slightly. This was it. This was the reason why she went to see the Healer.

"Actually, yes," Narcissa said, her voice was a tad pitchier in her anxiety. "I…I want to ask for Dumbledore's protection. It's not for me though. I think I can hold on very well myself. I want protection for my children."

The word didn't escape Dorcas Lupin's keen hearing.

 _"Children?"_ the other woman repeated, looking thoroughly taken aback.

"Yes," Narcissa whispered. "Children."

For the first time ever since she found out about it, she moved her hand to caress her still-flat stomach gently, allowing someone else other than herself to find out her secret.

Because, not even Lucius knew she was with a child.

* * *

 _"Stupefy!"_

 _"Protego!"_

 _"Impedimenta!"_

A flash of blue light, followed by a dull thud as her spell hit her opponent. She waited for ten seconds until the wave came. Pleased with herself, she finally lowered her wand and helped the poor sod to stand. Soft claps came from all direction as people congratulated her. She gave them all a small smile but said nothing. Her muscles were screaming from the strain of having to duel for _t hree hours nonstop._ She was so tired and all she wanted to do was to get back to her flat so she could sleep until next week. But everything – the fatigue, the soreness – it was all worth it though. At least now she could proudly say that she was no longer the clumsy, half-blood Hufflepuff who always blew things up. She could now say that she was _Auror Nymphadora Tonks_. Starting from that day on, people would never bother asking about her parents anymore. Heck, she could even ask people to call her by her last name and no one would question her about it. Feeling a lot happier than she ever was in years, once she was done shaking hands with all of the people present for her final Auror test, Tonks quickly excused herself to the locker room. Only when she was sure that she was alone did she finally drop her façade of bubblegum-pink hair and teal eyes, and revealed her true appearance. Her cheek-bones shifted and her nose got a little longer as her hair changed into its natural light-brown and her eyes also had gone back to her dull brown orbs. She paid a slight glanced to her reflection on the mirror and let out a deep breath.

For years since she was young, Tonks always had to deal with the constant teasing her school mates threw at her about the fact that she was a half-blood related to one of the oldest and most powerful Pureblood family in all of Britain. Not everyone knew it, but at least in the Pureblood society, it wasn't exactly a secret that her mother Andromeda was disowned from her own family because of her decision to marry a Muggle-born. That was why Tonks decided to become an Auror, because she knew that if she succeeded, the look on her tormentors' faces would be priceless. When she first applied, she made sure though that no one knew about her parents, or her relations to the Black family. She was well aware that her mother's cousin was one of the best Aurors in his era, and Tonks really wanted nothing to do with his brilliant reputation if she was to pass. It wasn't like Tonks didn't like Sirius Black. In fact, the two of them were really close because Sirius often treated her like the little sister he always wanted from the late Lily Potter, and Tonks really liked the thought of Sirius as an older brother of sort. But Tonks knew that if anyone was to find out she was related to Sirius, people would think that the only reason she passed her Auror test was because of Sirius and _not_ because she really was a good witch. The last thing she needed was for people to doubt her.

"Hi, kid!" Sirius called her after she had her shower and was heading out of the locker room, her bubblegum-pink hair and teal eyes were back on view. "Great work back there. So proud of you."

"Hello, Sirius," she greeted him. "I didn't know you were watching. And by the way, I thought I told you to _not_ talk to me when were in public."

"I'm Moody's second-in-command, girl. So, of _course_ I'd be watching," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "And about me not talking to you in public, there's no one else around. Everyone's either gone home or back at the training room. Besides, if you're still worried about people doubting your ability, I'll bloody knock some sense into their pitiful brains."

"Nice to know that I'll always have you to count on too," Tonks laughed. The senior Auror winked at her and chuckled.

"You know that I'll always have your back, kid. Nothing I won't do for Andy's little girl."

It was Tonks' turn to roll her eyes. She hated it when he said that. "What do you want to talk about, Sirius? I know you're fond of hearing yourself talk, but if you have nothing important to say, I'd really like to go home."

In all the years she knew the man, Tonks rarely saw him without his usual grin. The only times his grin was absent was when there was some terrible happened. The first time she saw it was back when she was only eight, a month after the death of James and Lily Potter. Tonks and her parents went to the funeral, and it was the first time she met her mother's cousin. She remembered being a little scared of Sirius upon seeing the grim look on his face. It took her mother sometime to convince little Nymphadora that cousin Sirius was actually a really _funny_ man. Tonks and her mother agreed since a long time ago that Sirius was the perfect embodiment of mischief. Therefore, whenever he lost his grin and looked distressed, it was unsettling to see.

"I just received a letter," Sirius said stiffly. "The letter said that there'd been sightings of Voldemort."

"Huh," Tonks said. "I get that it's important news, but I fail to see why you need to tell me this."

"The letter isn't signed, and there's no return address."

"So?"

"But it did say that Voldemort was seen in Romania."

"What does it – "

Oh.

 _("Most girls don't like to get dirty, you know.")_

 _("Well, I'm not most girls, so shut up or I'll kick you.")_

Tonks let out a shuddering breath as she closed her eyes in an effort to blink away the overwhelming feelings she had. Her mind had taken a sudden trip down memory lane, and no matter how hard she tried, she was powerless to stop herself from going through _every single_ memory she had of _him._ It had only been a year, and she thought that it was enough time for her to get over it. But now, she knew that even if it had taken her a century, _he_ would always be in her mind. When Tonks opened her eyes again, she found Sirius' mercurial ones had looked at her in worry. The older man was the only person other than herself and _him_ who knew about it. It was actually by pure chance that Sirius found out about it, when he witnessed Tonks screaming at _him_ that day. Being the good person he was, Sirius promised that he'd not tell Andromeda about it.

"You okay?" Sirius asked, cocking his head to the side in a manner that reminded Tonks greatly of her mother. It was obvious that the two cousins shared more than blood.

"I'll be fine," Tonks said. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "It's from _him,_ you think?"

"I don't think so. I _know_ so." Grimly, Sirius added, "And before you start asking me how, I just found out that the last time anyone saw him was almost _a month_ ago. So, if my maths are correct, he went missing around the same time he sent me this letter."

Without even saying it out loud, Tonks knew what Sirius meant.

"What do you want to do about it?" Tonks asked after awhile. If there was anything she knew about her mother's cousin, it was that Sirius would jump at the first chance to rescue someone. The Metamorphmagus suspected that it had something to do with the fact that he lost his best friends and didn't want anyone to feel the pain he felt.

"I'm going to rescue him, of course," Sirius said, confirming Tonks' guess. "And you're coming with me, kiddo."

Tonks wasn't lying when she said she didn't see it coming.

 _"What?"_ Tonks yelped, glaring at Sirius in disbelief. _"Are you crazy?"_

"No, sweetheart. I'm perfectly sane. I want you to come with me because one, it's not exactly an Auror mission so I can't have my men coming with me. Two, your tracking skills are brilliant and if there's anyone who can tell where he might be going, it's you. And three, it is your _boyfriend_ we're rescuing, dear. Also, I do like a little plot twist where the damsel saves the knight."

"But…" Tonks trailed off, knowing that there was no point to argue Sirius. His reasonings were right after all.

 _(And she did_ want _to come and rescue him.)_

"Alright, I'll do it," Tonks sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But _you_ are the one who's going to tell my mother that you're taking me away on a rescue mission in Romania. Merlin knows the woman will have a fit if I do it myself."

"You leave Andy to me," Sirius said, winking. He then took her hand and started to drag to follow him. "Come on, now. We have to go somewhere and we have to go _soon."_

"Wait, where are we going? _Sirius, wait!_ Tell me where are we going!"

"Tell Charlie Weasley's family that we're saving their Golden Boy, of course


	12. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 1

This was it.

She was _finally_ coming to Hogwarts.

Ginny wondered whether she could burst from being _so happy._

Ever since she was only six, when she watched her older brother Percy boarded the train, Ginny had been dreaming about the time she would get on the train herself. Last year, she thought she could sneak onto the train, what with her twin brothers Fred and George helping her after all. She wished she had succeeded, especially after she found out that her brother Ron sat the whole train ride with _the_ Harry Potter. It was well-known between her and her family that she had a _huge_ crush on the only surviving Potter. Her parents, especially her mother, found it sweet. Her brothers though? Even Percy _laughed_ whenever Ginny blushed at the mention of Harry's name. Ron became the most annoying one now, seeing that he actually befriended Ginny's crush. The whole summer, the only female Weasley was teased mercilessly about it. It was _infuriating_. So when she and her family got to King's Cross to for her first year, Ginny tried her best not to flee when Harry finally appeared with his family. The older boy came running toward his best friend, beaming as he told his friend about his summer when his Godparents took him to the house where his father grew up in. They still had sometime until they had to cross the 9¾ platform, and Harry decided that he'd treat his best friend with some Muggle ice-cream. Ron tried to deny it at first, but Harry was very persistent. In the end, Ginny's brother relented and let himself being dragged toward the ice-cream parlour, trying and failing to hide the huge smile on his face.

Harry had his entirely family coming with him to drop him off, and they all attracted so much attention. Starting from Harry's legal Godparents, Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon, who were talking seriously with Ginny's parents about Sirius' plan on trying to find her second-oldest brother Charlie that had gone missing. Her heart ached a little at the thought of her favourite brother after the twins, who liked to carry her around the house as she pretended to be riding a broom because her mother wouldn't let her to ride the real one. Shaking the thoughts away so she wouldn't start crying, Ginny moved her stare to look at Harry's other Godparents, Remus and Dorcas Lupin. Remus was partially involved in Sirius' conversation as he kept an eye around, constantly alert toward potential threats like the good Auror he was. His wife the Healer was busy conversing with the third couple in the group as she tended to Sirius' newborn girl. Ginny knew instantly that they were Sirius' brother and his family, Regulus Black. The younger Black was holding his a little baby girl who Ginny suspected was his own daughter. The other woman, who was talking to Dorcas, was probably Regulus' wife, seeing that she was wearing a ring. If the whole lot of them were aware of the attention they were attracting, they ignored it rather well. Muggles were probably oblivious about who they really were, but the passing wizards and witches knew who these people were.

"Mum, it's almost eleven," Percy said seriously, glancing toward Sirius and Remus discreetly yet the admiration was obvious. "We should go now."

"Oh yes," Molly Weasley said. She looked around and found that Ron was her only children that wasn't present. Turning to Ginny, she said, "Your brother isn't here yet?"

"I think he's still with Harry," Ginny answered. Molly clicked her tongue impatiently.

"Boys," she sighed before she started to yell for her youngest son' name. At the same time, Harry's Godmothers were calling his name.

"Yes, yes! We're coming in a minute!" Ginny heard Harry yelled back. "We just have to pay this and then we'll be there."

"They'll be fine, Molly," Sirius said, looking thoroughly amused. "We'll just leave them now and they'll come after us. You need to help your daughter, right?"

"Okay then… Come on, Ginny. We'll go now."

With her parents' help, Ginny got her trunk onto the train safely and easily. She kissed her parents goodbye and followed her brothers onto the train, where Percy quickly ditched her while Fred and George dropped her off into her compartment before they went off to find their friend Lee Jordan. Ginny quickly went to the window so she could wave at her parents. They looked a little distracted when they waved back at her, and only then did she realise she _never_ saw her brother or Harry following after them. No doubt her mother got worried, especially when the train started to move. From where she was standing, she saw that her mother wasn't the only one who was freaking out. Marlene and Dorcas looked like they were going to send a search party. Before the train took a turn, she saw Sirius whipping out his wand while Remus joined Arthur to calm down the ladies, the whole time Regulus was snickering as he talked to his wife who looked a bit uneasy. It would be lying to say that she wasn't worried about Ron and Harry, but she knew that if anyone could find the both of them, it would Sirius. He _was_ the best Auror the world had ever seen after all.

Deciding that she needed to do something to entertain herself the whole way to Hogwarts, she picked up the diary her parents bought her. It was a beautiful leather-bound book, albeit being a secondhand one. From the named embroidered to the cover, she knew that the book used to belong to a guy named Tom Marvolo Riddle. Just when she was about to inspect it further, the door to her compartment was suddenly opened, and Ginny whipped around in surprise. She found a girl around her age with dirty-blonde hair and comically huge eyes. As the girl sort of glided into her compartment nonchalantly, Ginny noticed the other girl's company. He was a strikingly handsome boy, a Hufflepuff and at least a fifth year, judging by the glittering Prefect badge he had. He gave Ginny a small smile before his gaze was back toward his blonde companion. Ginny knew who they were, seeing that they were practically her neighbours. The girl was Luna Lovegood, whose father was the quirky owner of the weird newspaper the Quibler. The boy was Cedric Diggory, and his father was a friend of Ginny's own father. She rarely saw the both of them because, albeit being neighbours of sort, the Burrow was still about half a mile away. So, even though they were of the same age, Ginny never had a playdate with Luna. It seemed though, despite being four years older, Luna and Cedric looked to be very close.

"Luna, Cedric," Ginny greeted them.

"Hey, Ginny," Cedric said in return while Luna just stared at her. "Excited for your first year?"

"Yeah," the female Weasley answered. "And before you ask me about it, I really wish I get into Gryffindor. Like, _a lot._ "

"Well, you have six brothers in Gryffindor already. And your parents were Gryffindors too. Pretty sure you'll end up in Gryffindor," Cedric said kindly.

"I hope so... Um, what about you, Luna? Which House do you want to be in?" Ginny asked for politeness' sake.

"Ravenclaw," the blonde answered curtly without looking at Ginny, too busy playing with her weird-looking necklace. "My mum always said the smart ones ended up in Ravenclaw."

 _"Excuse me?"_

What did she just say?

"She didn't mean to be rude," Cedric quickly said upon seeing Ginny's reaction. "Luna said things truthfully without minding the fact that she shouldn't have said that."

"I didn't mean to offend you, Ginny," Luna said flatly. Ginny glared at the blonde, wanting to be angry so badly at her. But once she saw the honesty in Luna's pale blue eyes, she knew she wouldn't have the heart to.

Sighing, Ginny said, "You don't have much friends, do you?"

"Except for Cedric, I don't have any," Luna answered truthfully. It was obvious she wasn't used to rhetorical questions.

"I don't have friends too, other than my brothers," Ginny replied, smiling a bit. "Do you want to be my friend, Luna?"

Her words seemed to catch Luna off her guard. She stared at Ginny's offered hand, and turned to look at Cedric who was smiling encouragingly. It took her sometime to take Ginny's hand.

"You're nicer than I thought you'd be," Luna said, cocking her head to the side. "Nicer than most people, in fact."

"Why, thank you," Ginny laughed. She had a feeling that being friends with Luna would be interesting.

"Well, I have to go," Cedric said, beaming in an earnest smile that made him looked even more handsome. "I've got Prefects meeting. Luna, I trust that you'll be alright with Ginny?"

"I'll be fine," Luna said. For the first time since she got into the compartment, Luna flashed the briefest smile toward Cedric. "Thank you for accompanying me."

"You know I'll always be there for you, Luna," the Prefect said, still with a smile. "Anyway, see you later, moon princess."

 _Moon princess?_

Ginny knew quite a lot about Cedric, seeing that Fred and George always moaned about how _every_ girl in their year was attracted to the older boy. Despite being a Hufflepuff, Cedric was known for being smarter than most Ravenclaw in his year. If that wasn't enough, he was also a great Quidditch player, being a Seeker _and_ he was just crowned Captain of his team that year. The few times Ginny and her family was invited to the Diggory household because of a party they held, Ginny remembered seeing Cedric and having a _slight_ attractiong toward him. He was taller than most boys his age that Ginny knew, and though he was still relatively young, Cedric looked to be well-built. With dark-brown hair that framed his handsome face perfectly, his good-looks were perfected with chiselled features and bright grey eyes. While his father Amos was rather boastful about his son, Cedric himself took after his mother and preferred to keep to himself whenever his father talked about Cedric's achievement to everyone who wanted to listen. Other than the twins, Percy once also remarked that Cedric had huge potential on becoming a Head Boy, and Percy would _definitely_ feel threatened if Cedric was someone from his year. Thus, to see someone like Cedric being friends with _Luna Lovegood,_ and seemed like he genuinely _cared_ for the younger girl, baffled Ginny. His little nickname was practically the cherry on top of her amusement. Not even Ginny's brothers ever gave her a sweet pet-name, and they were all very close with one another.

"You look like you're very close with him," Ginny said after sometime, unable to help herself.

"He was my friend since I was nine, ever since my mum died," Luna explained. "I was playing by the pond near my house, and I almost slipped into the water when Cedric came and saved me. After he scolded me, we just became friends since then."

" _Oh wow..._ " Ginny whistled. "To be honest, he didn't seem like the person who would befriend just anybody, much less a girl who is four years younger than him. And I didn't mean to say that to offend you."

"No, I understand that," Luna said. There was a funny look in her eyes as she turned her head and stared blankly at where Cedric was moments prior. "If you ask me, Ginny, I _still_ don't get it myself why he wanted to be my friend. Because we both know that people Cedric Diggory can have _anybody_ they want to be their friends."

"Yeah," Ginny muttered, the image of a certain boy with startling green-eyes and a lightnight-shaped scar came to mind. "I know that very well, Luna."

* * *

When the portal wouldn't open for him and Ron, the only thing Harry had in mind was _how_ to get to Hogwarts without the train. He didn't think about contacting Sirius using the Mirror, or any other adults via other means. So when Ron suggested that they should try going to Hogwarts on his father's flying Ford Anglia, Harry agreed immediately without second thoughts. Not to mention, he remembered Sirius' stories about how before he died, James planned on buying himself a car. Even thought his Godparents always made sure he was well-acquiantanced with the Muggle world too, Harry had _never_ got into a car before because his Godmothers were rather afraid of them. The threat that he practically exposed the magic world in front hundreds of Muggles by flying the car didn't even cross his mind. Harry actually believed that he could sneak into Gryffindor's common room without getting caught. Imagine the horror he felt when Argus Filch, who held a grudge toward the Marauders for years, caught him and Ron. It didn't help one bit when the caretaker called on _bloody Severus Snape._ If there was anyone who hated Harry more than Filch because of his father and his friends, it would be Snape. Harry felt like kissing Dumbledore's feet when the old Headmaster _literally_ saved him from getting expelled. Hell, he'd even send McGonagall _birthday presents_ though she told him that she'd be sending his Godparents a letter about his 'bad behaviour'. Harry could care less about a letter, as long as he didn't get expelled.

Unfortunately for him, Ron didn't feel the same way was he did about McGonagall telling on his parents. Yes, he was relieved that he didn't get expelled. But once he finally thought about his parents' (read: his _mother)_ reaction toward the letter. Harry thought his ears would burst after Ron whined for the _thirtieth_ time about how his mother would murder him. But, if he thought Ron's whining was bad, he had to take it back the moment he saw Hermione. His brilliant friend gave him _longer_ lectures than what his Godmothers used to give him. She kept on going about how he irresponsible he was being, and how it could have gotten him killed. The only person who thought it was amusing was _Malfoy,_ who actually laughed a loud with his friends Nott and Zabini after he asked Harry to tell him the details about him. Ever since Regulus' party, where they were forced to sit side by side, being the only children around, Harry and Malfoy had decided to be civil toward each other. They were still on last-name basis, but at least they wouldn't be yelling insults at each other. Harry was about to tell Hermione to _shut it_ after she repeated the same speech over and over again, when Ron's old owl Errol came with the worst thing a student could ever get from their parents.

 _A Howler._

With trembling hands, after some not-so encouraging words from Harry and Neville, Ron finally opened his Howler. The redhead was barely done with tearing the seal opened when the Howler jumped from his hand, and Mrs Weasley's voice came in a loud shrill, echoing all over the Great Hall as if the woman herself was around. Ron's face had gone as red as his face, and it made Harry felt bad for him. He felt even more guilty when Mrs Weasley said that her husband was facing an inquiry at work because of the stunt Harry and her son pulled. Harry wished that Sirius and Remus pulled on some strings to help good old Mr Weasley, so he wouldn't be fired or anything. After Mrs Weasley's Howler were shredded into bits, everyone in the Great Hall went silent, before _Malfoy_ broke the silent with his loud and degrading laughter, followed closely by Nott and Zabini. Harry couldn't help but to roll his eyes at Malfoy's display of insolence, knowing that even though the both of them went to stop Quirrel with Harry, it was obvious that Malfoy and Ron still didn't like each other. The Hall fell silent once again when Sirius' owl Stink, named after singer because he was one of Sirius' favourite _and_ because the owl had beautiful voice, came with Harry's own Howler. Now, unlike Ron, Howlers didn't scare Harry. Well, except when they came from Marlene or Dorcas. He wasn't exactly surprised when Stink came with the Howler because really, he got Howlers on _daily basis_ , thanks to his Animagus Godfather who didn't seem to understand that Howlers _weren't_ meant to be used for normal communications. Nevertheless, Harry was still a bit worried though, since he really did break serious ( _"The puns are getting too old, Harry," Hermione sighed in a bored tone.)_ rules this time. He knew that he _could_ have argued that it was _entirely_ his fault the portal wouldn't open for him and Ron, but sometimes, when the Godmothers were involved, Sirius and Remus had no choice but to scold Harry. Glancing at both of his friends, Harry reached for his Howler and pulled on the seal, bracing himself for the craziness that would come.

A loud, girlish scream was heard as the Howler came to life, before it started to jiggle like a tap dancer. Then, came the familiar voice of Remus Lupin arguing with the notorious Sirius Black, with background _vocals_ done by Marlene McKinnon and Dorcas Lupin.

" _SIRIUS, STOP SCREAMING!_ REALLY, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO START _GROW UP_ AND STOP USING HOWLERS TO CONTACT HARRY?"

" _NEVER!_ HOWLERS EXIST FOR A REASON, REMY!"

"YEAH, AND YOU'RE _CLEARLY_ ABUSING ITS INITIAL USE, YOU TOSSPOT!"

"SLYTHERIN'S STINKING SOCKS, BROTHER. I FORGOT YOU WERE _ALWAYS_ THIS ANNOYING."

"SHUT IT, REGGIE. I THOUGHT TODAY WAS YOUR TURN TO TAKE CARE OF THE GIRLS. DO YOUR WORK, LITTLE BROTHER."

"BOYS, REALLY? I'M PRETTY SURE _EVERYONE_ IN HOGWARTS IS LISTENING TO US, RIGHT NOW. AND I DON'T THINK THEY NEED TO KNOW HOW _CHILDISH_ THEIR FAVOURITE AURORS ARE."

"SORRY, MAR. I CAN'T HELP IT WHEN YOUR STUPID FIANCE IS BEING AN IDIOT."

"EXCUSE ME? _MOI_? AN IDIOT? WELL, LET ME REFRESH YOUR MEMORIES, REMUS JOHN LUPIN; I SCORED HIGHER SCORES THAN YOU AND JAMES _AND_ LILY COMBINED! I'M A BLOODY GENI-"

" _SIRIUS!_ "

"OH RIGHT. SORRY, DOE... ANYWAY, _HARRY JAMES POTTER_! YOU SNEAKY LITTLE _PRICK_! YOU FLEW AN _ENCHANTED_ CAR TO HOGWARTS? WOW, FAWN. _WOW._ I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE WORDS TO DESCRIBE JUST HOW BLOODY _PROUD_ I AM OF YOU. LIKE, I KNOW MOST RESPONSIBLED ADULTS WOULD BE SCOLDING YOU RIGHT NOW, LIKE REMY AND THE LADIES WOULD DEFINITELY DO, BUT THANK MERLIN WE BOTH KNOW I HAVE THE MENTALITY OF A RESPONSIBLED FOUR YEAR OLD. I REPEAT; WORDS CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE HOW PROUD _AND_ IMPRESSED I AM OF YOU RIGHT NOW, KID. YOU TRULY ARE YOUR FATHER'S SON. JAMES WOULD BE SO PRO – "

" _MERLIN'S BEARD, SIRIUS!_ I ASKED YOU TO DO ONE THING! _ONE. BLOODY. THING._ AND YOU _CAN'T_ DO IT PROPERLY? GIVE ME THAT. I AM DOING THIS WHOLE HOWLER THING MYSELF."

" _NO!_ HANDS OFF, MOONY. GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME. I MEAN IT!"

"OR WHAT?"

"OR...OR I'LL _RUN!_ "

" _COME BACK HERE, PADFOOT!_ "

" _BLOODY HELL, BOYS! SIRIUS, STOP RUNNING AROUND THE HOUSE LIKE A STUPID TODDLER! REMUS, STOP CHASING AFTER YOUR IDIOT FRIEND. DORCAS, DO SOME – "_

And with that, the letter burst in a dramatic flames, cutting of Marlene's words. For a couple of minutes, the Great Hall was _completely_ silent. No one dared to say a word, no one dared to move a muscle, no one even _breathed_. It was Dumbledore's little giggles that broke the spell. Soon enough, everyone was laughing along with him. Even McGonagall looked like she had conflicted feelings between laughing and sending a _Howler_ herself to her former students for being total idiots. As he tried to stop himself from cackling like hyenas, Harry couldn't help but to thank the Big Guy up there, or whoever was in charge of his life, that even if he lost his parents when he was just a baby, he had two set of parents that more than made up for it. It took sometime until everyone stopped laughing, and another extra time for people to get ready for their next class. Ron looked a bit more cheerful after listening to Harry's Howler, though he did express his envy that his Godparents weren't angry at him. Harry reminded him that if it wasn't for Sirius, his Godmothers no doubt would be yelling even _worse_ than Mrs Weasley, seeing that there were _two_ of them. Ron looked convinced, especially when he seemed to remember that time he stayed with Harry and saw Marlene yelled at his friend. Feeling much better of himself, the two friends got into class with smiles on their faces, even though they _still_ had Hermione nagging after them.

Sometimes, they felt like Hermione another _mother_ instead of a friend.

She was _that_ annoying.


	13. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 2

"You brought _ice-cream_ on a rescue mission?"

"Well, it's Charmed to stay frozen for months."

"That's not what I meant."

"Whatever. Do you want it or not?"

"Fine. I'll have some."

"I don't hear a thank you."

" _Thank you, oh great one."_

"Ah, that's more like it, kid."

It had been a little over a month since Sirius and Tonks began their _trip_ to find Charlie Weasley. To say that her mother supported her would be a bit too much. But Andromeda knew that when Tonks set her mind on something, there was no point of trying to change her mind. In the end, she relented and let Tonks to go for the mission. It did help that Sirius promised he would keep an eye 24/7 on Tonks, and if there was anyone in this world that Andromeda trusted her daughter's life with other than her husband, it would be her cousin. So, without further ado, Sirius and Tonks Apparated to one of the many Black estates spread all over Europe, Romania included. It wasn't exactly a manor like the one Sirius lived in, more like a cottage. It was located in Cârligi and was heavily protected with Protection Charms and Spells. They spent almost two weeks there to look for clues about Charlie because the last time anyone saw him, he was seen in a local (Muggle) pub not far from the cottage they were staying at. The pub owner told Sirius that he did know Charlie, who stayed at the inn just across of his pub. He said that Charlie spent the week he was there visiting his pub at least _twice_ every day to have a drink. Each one of his visits, Charlie _always_ looked like he'd been through a fight, limping as he walked with bruises and blood decorating his face. The last time he came, the pub owner remembered Charlie was craddling his right hand, which was twisted in a painful angle. When Sirius asked whether he saw Charlie carrying anything during one of his visits, the man said that except for the wooden stick he always kept in his left hand, the only thing the redhead had with him was an old picture of a young woman.

Before the pub owner even said it, Tonks knew instantly _whose_ picture Charlie was holding.

" _Hey, you're the woman in the picture!"_ the man said in his thick accent, pointing at Tonks. "You looked a little older though, and your hair was brown in the picture. But it was _definitely_ you. Is he your boyfriend?"

"Well, thanks a lot for everything," Sirius said quickly. "I appreciate your help, _draibăr_."

"Ah, sure. It's not a problem, really. But, who are you – "

" _Obliviate."_

The man stared blankly at Sirius for a minute as the Pureblood Auror tempered with his memory. It wouldn't be good for any of Voldemort's followers, or Voldemort himself, to find out that there was someone trying to help Charlie. When the man began to lose his consciousness, both Aurors quickly exited the pub. But they did leave a bit of Muggle money for the pub owner before they left to their next destination though, which was Focșani. According to the clues and informations they gathered back in Cârligi, Charlie actually let it slipped that he wanted to visit his friends there. It didn't take long for Tonks to realise that Charlie _intentionally_ told people about it, probably realising that sooner or later, he'd gone missing and someone would try to finish his work. Those friends Charlie talked about was obviously his fellow dragonologist who were known to reside in cities with huge wizard-community like Focșani. Tonks finally came to the conclusion that Charlie's work as a dragonologist could have been a front after all, and that his _real_ job was as a spy. When she told Sirius about it, the senior Auror nodded his head in agreement, although he couldn't help the confusion about the identity of Charlie's employer.

"Could it be Dumbledore?" Tonks asked. "Could the old man ask Charlie to be his ears all the way here in Romania?"

"Probably," Sirius said slowly, considering the posibilities. "The man _did_ say that it was important to keep our alliances with other countries."

"Speaking of Dumbledore, did he know about this?"

"Of course not. Other than the Weasleys and my family, your parents are the only ones who know about us coming to Charlie Weasley's rescue. I didn't want to alert unwanted attention."

"But, don't you think it'd be better for Dumbledore to know? He could have helped, I know."

"And risk _Lucius Malfoy_ finding out that Dumbledore's attention was on something else other than Hogwarts? Trust me, the last thing we need is for Malfoy to hear about this. Besides, if it turned out my suspicion was wrong, I'd prefer no one found out about it."

Tonks dropped the subject when she realised that Sirius was right. It didn't mean that she agreed though. Just like every other person who knew the man, Tonks was also under the impression that whenever something bad happened, Dumbledore would save the day. It wasn't like she didn't trust Sirius would be able to save Charlie. It was just habit for her, seeing that everyone she knew practically worshipped the ground Dumbledore walked on. But like Sirius said, Dumbledore wasn't there to help, so Tonks decided that it would be better for her to look through the information they gathered so they could haven an inkling where Charlie went. They'd spent over eight days in Focșani, asking Charlie's friends about him, but nothing they said seemed to be enough to give them clues on his whereabouts. Lost in her own concentration, Tonks didn't realise it when her mind took a little detour into the drawers in the back of her mind, where she kept all the memories she had of Charlie Weasley. The moment she finally took notice that her mind _wasn't_ on the little notes she and Sirius made, it was too late. Tonks' mind had started to go through _everything_ she had on the redhead, starting from the first time she saw him, back when she was only eleven.

They first met just a week after their Sorting ceremony, where she got into Hufflepuff and he went to Gryffindor to join his older brother. A group of Slytherin girls from her year was cornering Tonks because of who she was, and the teasing got even worse when Tonks' hair started to change colours frantically because of her emotions. As cliché as it sounded, Charlie Weasley came to her rescue, telling them to get lost or he'd hit them all. Unlike her bedtime stories where the knight was wearing a shining-armour, Charlie was soaked to the bones in his Gryffindor uniform after playing in the rain. It didn't matter to Tonks though, because in her eyes, when the redhead began to ask whether the girls hurt her or not, Charlie could have worn a jester-costume and Tonks wouldn't even bat an eye. That was pretty much how they became friends. Despite being in different Houses, they managed to hang out as often as they could. Whenever they had classes together, they would immediately go to sit beside each other. Tonks didn't have much friends in her own House, but Charlie had _tons_ of friends in Gryffindor. That was when the teasing began. At first, the Metamorphmagus thought that Charlie would push her away because back when you were eleven, being friends with girls was _bad._ But Tonks was wrong. Charlie merely shrugged it off and told his friends to find their own 'awesome friend _'_ because Tonks was _Charlie's_ friend. Tonks felt like her face was going to split into two because of how big she was smiling when Charlie put an arm around her and dragged her to have lunch with him by the Black Lake.

When they got to their fourth year, a lot of things had changed. Tonks finally outgrew her boyish features, and people started to notice her other than the clumsy Metamorphmagus. They began to acknowledge that she _was_ as pretty as her mother and her other Black relatives. Other than that though, when it came to Tonks' life, not much happened. But Charlie though? He was another story. He entered his rebellious phase the moment he turned fourteen. Though he had always been popular for his charms and rather good-looks that he shared with his older brother, the moment Charlie came for his fourth year with his first _tattoo_ on his left bicep, all girls went crazy about him. The fact that he became everyone's favourite Seeker only became a boost to his popularity. That was when the _long_ string of girlfriends started, and poor Tonks was pushed to the sidelines. She really wanted to say that it didn't affect her friendship, but it did. They spent less time together, and by the end of their fourth year, Tonks was thoroughly convinced that Charlie had no longer cared about her. She came home that year with tears brimming in her eyes as she sat alone in her compartment, cursing the stupid redhead and _herself._ She felt a terrible pain in her chest, so horrible the pain was she felt like vomiting. It was until she saw Charlie kissed his newest girlfriend that Tonks realised she had fallen for her best friend.

Her fifth year started, and for the first time ever, Tonks made use of her Metamorphmagus. She did a complete one-eighty and changed her entire appearance. When she boarded the Hogwarts Express, she turned from 'boring but pretty' into 'gorgeous and flirty'. She changed her light-brown hair that she inherited from her father into the beautiful shade of golden brown that she saw from her mother's magazines. Her brown eyes that she always felt _really_ dull changed into _purple_. Tonks didn't wait for her second day to begin her mission. Samuel Kenneth was her victim, a fellow Hufflepuff from her year. For a week, she toyed with him, flirting and all the stupid things the girls she used to laugh at always did. When the boy was hooked and was _begging_ her to be his girlfriend, she had begun to look for her next target. For the whole year, Tonks' activities revolved around studying (because her mother would kill her if her grades slipped) and crushing _every_ boy's heart that she toyed with. She knew she was being a total idiot as she became the kind of girl she _swore_ that she would never be. But the look on Charlie's face when he saw her kissing his biggest rival was _too_ priceless for her to witness, so she kept her acts. She knew her limits though, and her flirting only went as far as snogging in broom-closets. Still, it gave her the reputation that she was after. When the train arrived at King's Cross from from Hogwarts, Charlie stopped her by grabbing her hand, and asked what had happened to them. Coolly, Tonks told him to ask _himself_ what had happened, before she pushed past him to go meet her mother, quickly altering her appearances back into her true form.

Tonks' OWLs result came, and she was so proud of herself when she found that she passed the classes she wanted to become an Auror. Her parents praised her achievement the whole summer, and she even got a new broom from her father. For the first time since her tragic fourth year, Tonks felt genuinely happy. During the whole summer, not even once did she think about that redhead _git._ She even agreed to babysit little Harry when Sirius asked her about. Tonks was _that_ happy with the sudden yet great changes in her life. She had a huge smile on her face as she got on the train for her sixth year, but it was soon wiped off her face when she felt Charlie dragged her into the train's loo. She was about to scream at him to sod off, when she saw the look in his blue eyes. For all the years she knew him, never once had she seen him looking as _broken_ as that time he locked the both of them in the loo. It had only been two years, and she couldn't believe she had forgotten just how _beautiful_ the redhead was. He had new tattoes peeking from his sleeves, and both of his ears were pierced. She didn't want to admit it, but it felt difficult for her to breathe when Charlie was standing _so close_ to her. Tonks opened her mouth to ask him what did he want, but he beat her to it. He cupped her face with one hand as he leaned closer, his nose nuzzled Tonks' cheek softly. The Metamorphmagus let out a shuddering breath when she realised that Charlie's free hand had wrapped around her waist and was pulling her even _closer_ to him.

"Charlie?" Tonks had whispered, swallowing heavily at the close proximity.

"Don't punish me anymore, Tonks," Charlie said in a heart-breaking tone. "I was wrong, and I'm sorry. _Please,_ don't punish me anymore. I know that I deserve it, but it _hurts,_ Tonks. _So much…"_

Tonks froze, unable to think let alone say anything. She let out a small gasp when she felt Charlie moved, lowering himself to the ground so that he was kneeling in front of her. She looked down and she saw _it;_ she saw the pain in Charlie's _tired_ blue eyes. It broke heart heart to see him like that. Yes, what he did hurt her too. Call her a stupid romantic, but she _did_ love him. It was her turn to cup Charlie's face, except she used both hands. As she tried to pull him back onto his feet, Tonks said, "Get up. Charlie, get up. Get up _now."_

"No, Tonks. Not until you say you've forgiven me," Charlie said, shaking his head stubbornly. "I will not get up until you tell me you've forgiven me. I will not get up until you tell me that you're done punishing me."

"I never meant it as a punish – "

"Why did you do it then? Why did you flaunt all those parade of boys in front of me? Why, Tonks? Goddamit, don't you know that it _killed_ me to see you kissing those boys? Don't you know that – "

Something in Tonks snapped.

" _I know that, you selfish jerk!"_ Tonks yelled, slapping Charlie hard as she finally let lose the anger and sadness she kept for two years. "I _felt_ that too when you started to date all those _stupid_ girls in her fourth. You know, the _same_ girls who made it a game to tease me? You want to talk about hurt? You want to talk about pain? That's rich, coming from you, Weasley. You _hurt_ me first, and now you're acting as if you were the victim?"

" _I love you!"_ Charlie yelled right back as he got onto his feet, towering over Tonks. "I have _always_ loved you, Nymphadora Tonks. I wanted to tell you that since _second year,_ but you always chickened out whenever people began to tease us about it. So, don't go blaming me when I thought you didn't want me like that."

All the anger was drained out from Tonks' body, as she slowly processed Charlie's words. She blinked about a thousand time to make sure she wasn't dreaming because it felt like something from childish fairytales. In real life, jerks like Charlie didn't come begging for forgiveness and then yelling his love for the pathetic loser like Tonks. But it really _was_ happening to her. Charlie _was_ asking for her forgiveness. He _was_ telling her that he loved her. Tonks knew that she still had loads to talk to Charlie, especially because deep down, she was still angry with him for being a total _arse._ But she decided that she could always yell at Charlie later on. She would be damned if she let him got away again. The git was about to resign himself with the fact that Tonks was going to hate him forever when the Hufflepuff wrapped her arms around him, and like every other romantic novels she _(sadly)_ had read, Tonks kissed Charlie with all the love she had for him, hoping that he'd understand that she _loved_ him too, and that she forgave him, but she too was still _very_ angry with him. Judging from the cheeky grin Charlie had against his lips as he returned her kiss, it seemed like the fool understood what she meant.

"Tonks? Hey, Tonks? Kid, are you alright?"

 _("Hey, what happened? Are you alright, love?")_

 _("You're_ leaving _me, you git. How could I be alright?")_

Tonks shook her head to clear her thoughts at the sound of Sirius' voice calling her name. She realised that she had spent too much time thinking about the past. Taking her eyes off from the pile of papers she had, she turned her attention toward Sirius. The older Auror had just gone to meet someone who claimed to be the last person who saw Charlie before he left Focșani. One look at Sirius' face, Tonks didn't need to ask him whether he had good news or bad news. The frown on his face was prove enough that whatever Charlie's friend told him was definitely bad news.

"What did he say?" Tonks said, unconsciously she began to wring on her sleeve as she waited for the dreaded information.

"He was visiting Charlie, and was about to knock on his front door, when he heard the noises coming from inside the room Charlie rented," Sirius began. "He said that there were at least six people with Charlie, and they were talking rather heatedly with one another. He was going to come in to see whether Charlie needed help, when the yelling began. It wasn't hard for our friend to guess that whoever was inside the room with Charlie was trying to get your boyfriend to come with them. By the time he finally managed to knock down Charlie's door, one of Charlie's attackers had struck him right on the chest, which made him unconscious. They didn't waste a single time and Apparated away, taking Charlie with them. Our friend was rather smart though, because he was quick enough to put a Tracking Spell on them before they were gone."

"That's great!" Tonks exclaimed, feeling like she could breath for the first time in weeks. "Where did they go, Sirius? We should go after them before it's too late."

"Not so fast, kid," Sirius said, his frown deeped. "It's not like they took your boyfriend to Paris to see the Eiffel tower. The place where they took him was a really dangerous place, the center of every Dark Magic that ever existed. It was filled with ancient and vile magic, and we needed at least _twenty_ highly-trained Aurors if we wanted to go there."

"Well, I don't care," Tonks said firmly. "Besides, where in the world did they take Charlie to? It's not like they were taking him to hell."

"Close," Sirius said, and Tonks was _shocked_ to find Sirius letting out a shudder as his face paled slightly. "They're taking him to Hoai Baciu forest."

* * *

Percy Weasley was known to be the biggest jerk in his family. It wasn't like he was intentionally being an arse most of the time. No, Percy became the person he was because he had high expectations toward himself in his life. He had goals that he needed to fullfil so he wouldn't end up as _another Weasley_ amongst the hundreds others. Percy wanted to become _somebody_ that people would talk about because of all the great things he did. But it didn't mean that he didn't care about his family, because he did. Percy cared deeply about his family. That was why he _desperately_ wanted to succeed in life, so he could give them the life they deserved. It broke his heart when he saw how the twins had to keep it to themselves whenever they wanted something that would help them explore their creativity, or when Ron was getting all the seconhand stuffs he had, or how Ginny had to settle for _someone_ else's secondhand stuffs. His family was good people, he knew it. But why did they have _so little,_ when other people who Percy believed didn't deserve it had more? It was more than once that Percy wondered why people like the Malfoys practically had the world by the palms of their hands. Life wasn't fair, that was the conclusion Percy came ot. It was _never_ fair, and he needed to fight tooth and nail to finally get what he and his family deserved.

When Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks came to his house to deliver the news about Charlie, he wished that he could take the pain away from his mother when he saw the look on her face. Molly had always feared for the safety of her two eldest, and he knew it was like a nightmare came to life as she listened to Sirius. Out of his six brothers, Percy was the closest with Charlie. True, Bill was probably the one who was _really_ close with Charlie. But Percy felt the most comfortable with his dragon-loving older brother. While Bill, kind and wise that he was, saw Percy as someone _much_ too young to be someone his equal. Being the oldest of seven child, Bill more often than not saw himself as another _parent_ other than an older brother. Charlie was different. Even when he was still a kid himself, Charlie would sneak sweets to his younger siblings, winking cheekily as he ducked away from Bill's backhanded slap to his head. It would be an understatement of the century to say that Percy was distressed about Charlie being missing. He was trying to console his sister, who had started crying midway Sirius' words, when he began to notice something from the woman sitting beside the Pureblood. She was silent the whole her companion talked, her composure was incredibly calm and poised. But Percy had always been the keen on in his family, and it didn't miss his attention when he saw the slight tremor in the woman's hand as pain flashed in her purple eyes. Percy remembered Tonks. She was already a fourth a year with Charlie when Percy began his first, and she was actually very reserved until the end of the year. In her fifth year, Tonk became very popular for being a total flirt. The third Weasley child remembered the rumours he heard regarding the former Hufflepuff and his brother, and it was only that moment, as he witnessed how she clenched her jaw, that he realised how _true_ the rumours were.

 _(You owe me five Galleons, Bill.)_

"Hullo, Perce," a voice surprised Percy out of his reverie. Turning around, he found Oliver Wood standing by the door to the boys' dormitory, dressed in his Quidditch uniform.

"Hi," Percy greeted, eyeing his friend closely before he let out a snort. "Please don't tell me you're making your team practise till late again."

"Of course not," Oliver said, rolling his eyes at Percy's accusation. "It was just me. I know this must be a little surprising for you to hear, but I don't actually make it a habit to go hard on my team."

"My brothers would definitely argue you about it," Percy said, remembering the twins' moaning to him about how _cruel_ Oliver could be when he was in his moods.

"We all know how _dramatic_ Fred and George can be," Oliver said. "They are _your_ brothers after all."

Percy rolled his eyes but said nothing else. Not a lot of people knew it, but Percy was actually very close with Oliver. He could even confidently say that the Quidditch fanatic was his _best friend_. It was funny how they ended up as friends, seeing that they both had completely different agendas. But they _were_ friends. At first, it was their love toward Quidditch that brought them together. But after awhile, the fact that they both had their own ambitions that they both respected was what brought them closer. They would study together with or without upcoming tests, and when they felt like taking a break, they would be talking about Quidditch until their throats were sore. Being the odd one out in his family, Percy really welcomed the friendship Oliver gave him. It made him feel like someone who wasn't a total arse.

"…Perce? Hey, Percy. Percy, do you hear me?" Olive called his name a few times. The Keeper had showered and was prepared for sleep. Shaking his head to clear his mind, Percy then nodded.

"Yeah, sorry," Percy muttered, running a hand through his hair tiredly. "I…I had something in mind."

"Imagining yourself as the future Prime Minister again?" Oliver teased as he threw himself on the bed beside Percy's.

"No, I was thinking about something else," Percy said quietly, glancing at the day's Daily Prophet that reported about Charlie's disappearance. It seemed that the news had reached Skeeter at last. Oliver followed his gaze and sobered up instantly.

"I'm sorry about your brother," Oliver said. "He was a great captain. Brilliant leader."

"I know. He's my _brother,_ remember?"

Oliver looked like he was carefully trying to think of the right words to say before he opened his mouth. Tilting his head to the side, he said, "I read that there were Aurors who secretly went after your brother. Is it true?"

Percy nodded. "Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks went after him. It should be a secret actually, lest Charlie's captors would find out that someone was going after him. Dunno how Skeeter got it."

"That's Skeeter for you. The woman was cunning as hell. She had eyes and ears everywhere in the Ministry. You know, people who'd blab irresponsibly for the money she'd pay them."

"I just wish that by the time everything's out in the open, Sirius and Tonks have found Charlie. I mean, imagine what they'd do to him if…"

Percy swallowed heavily as he trailed off, unable to continue as horrible pictures of his brother being torture flashed in his mind. Charlie was strong, everyone knew that. But going under torture for _months_ now, it wasn't easy.

"They'll find him, Perce. We have to believe that they'll find him," Oliver said, patting Percy's knees.

"I hope so," the young sixth year Prefect said, his eyes once again landed on the Prophet.

There was a picture of Charlie back when he just graduated out of Hogwarts. He was practically glowing in happiness, even though he made a face when Molly gave him a kiss. His family had the picture back at home, framed and hung in their cramped house. Percy had walked passed the picture thousands of times before. But it was the first time he noticed Charlie's blue eyes, so similar like himself and Bill's and Ron's eyes, were focused to someone on the far side. The person on the edge of the picture was cut because Arthur probably focused the camera on his son and wife. But Percy could tell that, even though the picture was black-and-white, the person Charlie was looking had _shocking bubblegum-pink hair._

"Hey, Perce?" Oliver said.

"Hm?" Percy hummed absentmindedly.

"I just want to tell you that you're _not_ alone, okay? When you feel like talking to someone, feel free to come to me and talk my ear off."

 _"What?"_

Oliver shrugged, burying himself under his covers. "I know you, mate. When things get tough, you have the tendency to distant yourself from others. So, don't push away people who care about you. Let the twins and Penelope in. Let _us_ in. You'll need it."


	14. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 3

**NOTES:** Hello! What do you think of the previous two chapters? I hope I did a decent job :) And oh, tell me which character is your favourite so far. Also, if you want me to write about someone, tell me about. Anyway, I guess I've babbled enough. Here goes the next chapter ;)

* * *

Draco was nervous as hell.

All his life, the only times Draco was nervous was when his father started to look at him with that utter disappointed look in his eyes. Well, he _was_ a little nervous during the Sorting ceremony, but he always had a feeling that he would end up in Slytherin. Not only his parents were Slytherins, but he had a long line of Slytherins from both sides of his family. So, it was actually a given that he ended up as one. The reason the young Malfoy was feeling nervous at the moment was because of the little piece of paper Marcus Flint was holding in his hand. Marcus was a total _troll,_ in Draco's opinion, but the imbecile also happened to be Captain for Slytherin's Quidditch team – and Draco wanted to be in the team so badly. Following the footsteps of his father, Draco tried out for the position of a Chaser. Draco was actually pretty confident back when he was on the field as he scored eighteen out of the twenty shots he should to get the position he wanted. No other candidates scored as much as he did, so he was rather sure that he'd get the position. But that was _before_ he found out that Flint had promised the one position left for Chasers to his friend.

He should have known that politics _always_ applied in Slytherin.

"Come on, Draco," Theo said, pulling him by the hand toward the piece of paper Flint put on the notice board. "Let's see whether you get Chaser or not."

"I'm not getting it, Theo," Draco sighed, resigned. "Flint promised it to his friend Adrian Pucey."

" _Pucey?"_ Blaise repeated, frowning as he pictured the older Slytherin's tryout. By then, the trio was standing in front of the notice board. "Mate, didn't you see Pucey back there? That guy scored only a _quarter_ of what your goals _."_

"That won't matter to Flint. As long as Pucey didn't totally suck, he'll take him."

"Have a little faith in yourself, Draco," Theo said. "Go and have a look."

Knowing how annoying his friends ( _Draco still couldn't believe he had them)_ could be, Draco relented and tiptoed to have a look on the notice board. He set his eyes on the names under the column titled CHASER, and found that his name wasn't there. But just when he was about to turn around, his eyes caught something _really_ interesting. Under the column titled SEEKER, he saw _his_ name there. Draco thought he was imagining it, so against his better judgement, knowing that he'd look like a fool, Draco actually rubbed his eyes and blinked about seven times. Nope, he wasn't dreaming. The name was still there. _His_ name was still there. Perhaps, one more time? Yep, it wasn't going away.

"Draco, you get it?" Theo said as he and Blaise pushed past everyone else so they could see it.

"I didn't get Chaser," Draco said slowly, his grey eyes were still set on his name. "But I got – "

" _You got Seeker?"_ Blaise exclaimed, cutting him mid-sentence. "Wow!"

"Wait, _what?"_ Theo said, nudging Draco aside so he could read it himself. After sometime, Draco's childhood friend let out a low whistle. "Whoa, Draco…"

"Seeker is _definitely_ way better than Chaser," Blaise said, clapping Draco in the back. "You can finally make it even with Potter."

 _Oh no._

"This is wrong," Draco muttered under his breath. "I can't be a Seeker. I'm a Chaser. I can't _possibly_ become a Seeker."

"What's the difference, mate? You just have to fly," Theo said carelessly, being the only one in their little trio who wasn't _that_ into Quidditch. He flinched when Draco whipped around and glared at him. Even Blaise sent him a look of displeasure.

"Oh, Theodore," Blaise scolded like a mother to her son. "How ignorant you are about Quidditch. Are you _sure_ you're of the right species?"

"Cut it out, Zabini," Theo snapped, deeply offended. "There's nothing wrong about not being all that crazy over a sport."

"It's _the_ sport, Theodore," Blaise said, rolling his eyes at the other boy. "And if you were just a wee bit more informed, you'd know that you _can't_ force a position to someone. That's just not right."

"Well, Chaser and Seeker aren't that different. It's not like Draco had to change from being a Beater into a Keeper."

"See? Draco, did you hear him? This just shows how awfully – "

"Just shut up, you two," Draco said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just…keep it shut. I'm trying to find a solution right now."

"Get your father to bribe Flint," Theo said, earning a nod from Blaise. "I'm sure he won't be able to say no if your father buys him the newest broom or something."

"Quidditch Illiterate over here is right. Do it the Slytherin way," Blaise said as he dodged a wayward kick from Theo.

"My father bought the _entire_ team new brooms to ensure I get into the team," Draco said in a small voice, feeling a little embarrassed at the revelation. "I've gotten into the team already. I don't think my father will be pleased if I ask him for more."

"Oh, damn," Theo said, feeling frustrated as well for his hand. "You're screwed then, Malfoy. And your father was a Chaser as well, so there's no asking him for suggestions."

"If only you had someone in your family who you could turn to," Blaise quipped, unaware that what he said had sparked an idea in his blonde friend's mind.

"Hold on, Blaise… I _do_ have someone I can ask suggestions about this," Draco said, cheering up a bit.

"Who?" Theo and Blaise asked in unison. But Draco wasn't answering them. He'd gone running into the boy's dormitory to write a letter.

Ever since his father took him and his mother to Black Manor for the party in honour of Regulus Black's return, Narcissa had managed to secure a rather good relationship with her long lost cousin. Both of them being the youngest and always felt like they were overshadowed by their older siblings, Regulus and Narcissa had always been close since they were little. Thus, before the Malfoys excused themselves, Narcissa made sure that Regulus knew she still considered him as her best friend. Draco found out just a few days later that since then, Narcissa always tried to meet up with Regulus at Black Manor when no one else but Regulus and his wife were home. The last time she went to see Regulus, the blonde woman took Draco to come with her. It didn't take Draco long to decide that he liked his mother's cousin. He was very nice toward Draco, and he treated him as if he were his equal rather than a child. It granted the man a huge positive point in Draco's eyes. The young Slytherin could say that Regulus probably liked him too, seeing that the man sent Draco a letter _just_ to wish him luck for his Quidditch tryout. Draco did tell Regulus about his plan on trying out for the team, and he was glad that Regulus took him seriously. If there was anyone he could ask about how being a Seeker, it was _definitely_ Regulus Black. The man _was_ as Seeker back in his days.

Grabbing a piece of parchament and his quill, Draco began his letter.

 _Dear Regulus…_

* * *

" _Why did you save me?"_

 _"Well, you'd have drowned if I hadn't saved you."_

 _"Did it ever occur to you that I_ wanted _it?"_

 _"Are you saying that you wanted to_ die?"

" _We all live to die after all. Doesn't matter how."_

 _"Wait, where are you going?"_

 _"I'm leaving, of course."_

Cedric opened his eyes abruptly, shooting up from his pillows as he woke up from his dream. It was more like memories, but whatever. Sometimes details didn't matter at all. He ran a hand through his sweat-slicked hair, swallowing thickly as he felt his heart beating madly. It was the same dream he had been having since he met _her._ Luna Lovegood, his little moon princess who wanted to _die._ They never spoke about it, but Cedric knew she still remembered how _exactly_ they met. Whenever their parents asked them to retell the stories of how they became friends, they'd say that she was playing by the pond and nearly slipped into the water when Cedric came to the rescue. His father made it a habit to remind Xenophilius Lovegood that he owed Cedric a great deal for saving Luna. What none of their parents knew was that Luna _didn't_ slip that day. When Cedric came by the pond, just a few days after he attended the funeral of Mrs Lovegood, the Hufflepuff saw a whole different scenario. Nine year old Luna Lovegood _intentionally_ jumped into the pond to drown herself so she could be with her mother. The water wasn't deep enough to drown her, true. But it was _poisonous_ enough to kill her if she swallowed some. After he found out Luna's true intentions, it was like he made a silent vow to himself that he'd _always_ make sure that Luna didn't make another attempt to kill herself. Every morning at nine, Cedric would come to her house and spent the whole day accompanying her picking plants and running after every weird creatures they came across on their little trip around the forest near her house. When he got back home every evening, Cedric was always haunted with the thought of Luna jumping from the window of her room in the middle of the night.

For someone so young, Luna had _very_ dark thoughts running through young minds.

In the two years he knew her, Cedric learned that Luna was always bullied by her cousins from her mother's side. Her father being who he was, Mrs Lovegood's family didn't think that highly of him. It resulted badly toward Luna. Ever since she was young, her cousins would tease her and make fun of her because she was different. Cedric had no idea why he was suddenly so protective toward the younger girl, but he couldn't help himself from feeling really angry at the thought of someone being cruel to Luna. The bullying took a toll on Luna, especially after her mother's death. People would often remark that Luna's honesty knew no bounds. But, the truth was, when it came to herself, Luna was a proficient liar. She had the ability to put up walls to guard her true feelings. She could ask nonchalantly as if nothing could hurt her, but that was just a façade. A bloody good one. It if was someone who was older ( _like_ much _older),_ it wouldn't be weird for Cedric to see it. But for Luna, who was only nine back then, it was worrying. Cedric himself was only thirteen when he first met her, but even then he knew that children shouldn't be afraid to show how they really felt. The few times he managed to make her speak about what she really had in mind, he really wished she hadn't talked about death so casually.

He supposed it was a good thing that he was four years older _and_ a Prefect too. That way, even though she got into Ravenclaw while he was in Hufflepuff, he could still watch her back. Cedric had a lot of friends in other Houses, but he knew that none of them would look after Luna the way he wanted them too. Just the other day, he saw some third year Ravenclaw boys mocked Luna for the Butterbeer-cap necklace she was wearing. He would have bashed those little pricks' head if Ginny Weasley weren't there to help Luna. Ginny threatened that she would tell her brother Percy if those boys didn't leave Luna alone. At first, Cedric was worried that they would probably hurt Ginny too because she was getting in the way, and the last thing Cedric wanted was to explain to Percy and Weasley twins about _why_ their little sister was hurt. So when he saw the sixth year Prefect miraculously coming to his sister's aid as if Ginny just summoned him out of thin air, he let out a huge breath of relief as he watched Percy taking points from those boys. From the corner of his eye, Cedric saw Ginny led Luna to their next class that they had together. He only left them alone to go to his own class once he was sure that the both of them got into class. Cedric knew that there were other kids that would tease Luna again. But, as long as Ginny was with him, Cedric didn't worry that much about her.

"Diggory, you awake?" a sleepy voice said as the door to the boys' dormitory was opened. A boy in his year, who was known for his partying habits, named Ted Edwards came in, still dressed in his uniform. Cedric spared a glance toward his watch and saw that it was almost two in the morning. Good thing it was the weekend.

"Yeah, I'm up. Why? You need some Hangover Potion for later?" Cedric asked, having been asked the question many times before. Despite their rather obvious differences, Cedric could say that Edwards was rather a good friend of his.

"Sod off, you git," Edwards laughed. "There was a little girl outside the portrait asking for you. I think her name was Luna. Is she your cousin or something?"

" _What?_ " Cedric practically yelped, leaping off his bed. "You're not messing with me, right?"

"Why in the world would I do that?" Edwards said as he swayed a bit, the alcohol in his system obviously making him a bit woozy. "Look, Diggory; you better get out there quickly. She was lucky I was on my way back here and saw her out there by herself. What with the attacks lately, it's not safe for her to be out so late at night."

"You're right," Cedric agreed. He quickly picked up his shirt from the foot of his bed, slipped them on and headed out of the room.

Cedric spent no more time and opened the portrait, hoping that he wasn't too late. His breath got caught in his throat when he saw Luna sitting on the floor, curling into herself as she leaned against the wall. But that wasn't all of it. At the sound of someone opening the portrait, Luna turned around her toward him, and that was when Cedric noticed that she was soaking wet and her long hair was _much_ shorter than he remembered seeing it just a few hours prior. There was also a slight bruise under her right eye that he knew would get worse by morning. He didn't need to ask her to know what those _horrid_ girls had done to her. In less than a second, Cedric felt the immense _anger_ toward those girls. Calling people awful names was one thing. But this? This was too much. Pulling the girl closer to him, he led her into the common room, knowing that if anyone saw it, he'd probably have some explaining to do, but he ignored it anyway. He Summoned his quilt from the boys' dormitory and wrapped Luna with it as they both sat by the fire. The poor girl was trembling from the cold, so he hugged her tightly to get her warm. Cedric's heart clenched when he felt the the small Ravenclaw leaned into him, burying her face against his chest. Luna _never_ cried, but this was probably the most vulnerability he'd seen of her. The next thirty minutes passed with Luna in his arms as they huddled together, silently watching the flames dancing like little fairies. He felt her little hands playing with his collar as Cedric himself was absentmindedly stroking her hair.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Cedric asked in a small voice. "I know you don't like to talk about it, but I _need_ to know, Luna. This has gotten too far and I _can't_ keep quiet anymore."

"It's nothing," Luna answered, her sweet voice sounded tired. "You don't need to worry about it."

 _"Luna…"_ Cedric took her chin and forced her to look at him. "I told you that I'll _always_ be there for you, right? Please don't shut me out. Tell me what happened."

It took the girl a minute to finally relent. Sighing heavily as she pulled her knees to her chin, Luna said, "I was asleep when I heard them looking through my things. I saw them reading Daddy's letter, laughing at what he wrote. I told them to give it back, but they wouldn't do it. I got…I got angry at them, but I didn't mean it to happen, I swear."

"What did you do to them?" Cedric asked, though he had an inkling already.

"I made their belongings to attack them," Luna said curtly. "And it only stopped after one of them managed to hit me. Then they dragged me to the bathroom, put my head into the water a few times before they decided to cut my hair. After that, they decided to kick me out of the Tower."

Cedric was at lost for words. He had guessed that her fellow Ravenclaws had bullied her. But he never thought it was that bad. Judging from how casual Luna talked about it, he had a feeling that it wasn't exactly the first time she was treated this horrible. He decided that when morning came, he'd talk about it to Professor Flitwick. Cedric told Luna about his plan, firmly ignoring Luna's request to just leave it alone. He tucked loose stray of her hair behind her ear and added, "I also want you to promise me that if anything like this happens again, I want you to tell me about it."

"Fine," Luna sighed in defeat. Cedric was about to grin triumphantly when she continued. "Sometimes I think that it'd all be easier if you'd let me drown that day, you know? If I'd died, none of this would happen."

"Stop it."

"People have started talking about it now. They know you're there to protect me, and they _don't_ like it. One day, they'll make fun of you, and you'll lose _everything._ It's better for me to die."

"Luna, stop it."

"I'd see Mummy again. I'd be sad about leaving you and Daddy, but it's better – "

" _Luna!"_

Cedrci didn't realise it that he'd yell at her until he saw the surprised look on her face. He felt guilty when he saw the slight fear in Luna's pale eyes as she unconsciously drifted out of his arms, knowing that he had scared her. Heaving deeply Cedric pulled her back into him, gently stroking her hair like he just did as he buried his face in her hair. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Luna. But, you should know by now that I hate it when you talk about dying. How do you think I'd feel if one day I found you're not _here_ anymore? Promise me you'll _stop_ thinking about it. When things get too hard, you come find me and I'll help you through it."

"Okay…" Luna said in a soft whisper, and Cedric let out a sigh of relief when he felt her relaxed.

"Thank you," Cedric said. "In the morning we'll go to Madam Pomfrey about your bruise, okay? And hopefully, she'll have something to grow your hair back."

"Why are you so nice to me, Cedric?" Luna asked, pulling back a little bit so she could look at him. "You've _always_ been so good to me. We're not related and as far I'm concern, our parents don't even _like_ each other. Why, Cedric?"

"I don't know, Luna," Cedric said honestly. "But I do know that I care about you and I'll be absolutely devastated if you…if you're gone. So, _please,_ don't do anything stupid when I'm not looking."


	15. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 4

Sometimes, Neville Longbottom would wish that he got a different set of parents. He was glad that none of his friends knew the truth about them. It was not because he was ashamed; no, it wasn't that. Frank and Alice Longbottom would always be too good to be true, war heroes that they were. His friends would tell him how awesome it was for him to have heroes for parents. But he knew that if they found that they'd lost their mind and was residing in St Mungo's, unable to even recognise their own son, his friends' adoration would be gone. Things were already difficult for him. People always saw him as a failure, comparing him to all the great things his parents, especially his father, did when they were his age. In truth, Neville himself always felt like a failure. It was bad enough that his family used to think that he'd end up a Squib. But now that he was actually at Hogwarts, witnessing how so much better everyone was than him, it felt like the final nail in the coffin. Having Harry Potter in your year and House was awful, especially when people kept on comparing you, the Boy-Who- _Could_ -Be, and Harry Potter, the star of the show. Neville had always felt the pressure of everyone's expectation down his neck. People always expected him to do great things like his parents did, and he _always_ had to keep his tears at bay when they looked at him in disappointment when he failed them. The only subject that he was rather good at was Herbology, which came almost naturally to him. But then again, at times of war, what good would his extensive Herbology knowledge to him?

His second year hadn't started long enough when he was once again reminded of the fact that he barely passed his classes every year. They had their first DADA lesson with the new professor, that god-awful _git_ Gilderoy Lockhart. If there was one thing that _every_ boy at Hogwarts agreed, ranging from age eleven to seventeen, it would be the fact that Lockhart was a total _arse._ Bloody idiot was a phony, in Neville's opinion. His exploits that he wrote in his books were much too bizarre to believe, and yet a lot of young witches (and even _mothers)_ seemed to believe him. His incapability proved during that first lesson they had, when he brought a cage full of pixies and set them loose in class. Lockhart told them that they should try capturing the pixies and put them back into their cage. But those Cornish Pixies were sneaky little buggers. After sometime, most of the students in class had run out of the room to avoid getting bitten or poked by those pixies' sharp nails. Neville would have gotten out himself, if it hadn't for the fact that the pixies got him hanging by the hook on the ceiling. Being the _noble_ hero he was, Lockhart ran back into his private chamber and left Harry and Ron and Hermione to fix things. Thanks to Hermione's quick thinking, she used the Freezing Charm before things got too crazy. The humiliation Neville suffered, getting picked on by other students because he lost in a fight against _pixies,_ tempted him to consider dropping out of Hogwarts. It didn't matter that everyone else had left the class as well when the pixies began to attack. All they remembered was Neville hanging like a chandelier.

"… _let – me – go!_ Get your hands off me or I swear to Merlin, I'll hex you!" Neville heard a girlish voice said as he made his way back from the library to Gryffindor Common Room. He knew the voice anyway, and when he saw the crazy curls, he saw that it was Hermione.

"Not until you promise me, Granger. Not until you say the words," another voice said. This one brought Neville to shudder a bit as he pictured an episode of Malfoy picking on him on his first day at Hogwarts.

"What do you _care_ anyway? I thought you didn't want my _filthy_ Mudblood hands touching you, _Malfoy._ So, bugger off, you git."

Malfoy flinched at the venom in Hermione's tone, and Neville remembered that just the other day, Malfoy had called Hermione a Mudblood. It'd been known to everyone, at least the students in Neville's year, that Malfoy and Harry had become rather civil ever since the start of the year. But after that slip-up Malfoy made, Harry had resented Malfoy again like he did a year prior. This time, because his best friend was involved, the hatred Harry had for Malfoy had trippled. Up until that day, Neville was just as convinced as Harry that Malfoy was a git and could _never_ change. But now that he was witnessing the interaction between Malfoy and Hermione, seeing how Malfoy held Hermione's hand firmly yet gently, even as he kept dodging Hermione's kicks to his shin, Neville realised that he had been wrong about Malfoy – that _everyone_ had been wrong.

"Merlin, you're so frustratingly stubborn, Granger," Malfoy snapped, stepping to the side again to avoice Hermione's foot.

" _I'm_ frustrating? Well, that's rich, Malfoy, coming from you. Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror? Because, you're just as bloody frustrating, and _irritating_ and annoying, and – _just let go of my hand!"_

"I'll let go of your hand if you just promise me. _Don't_ wander around alone again, Granger. Take Weasle for all I care, though I prefer Potter any day. Just make sure you have someone with you."

"I am not helpless, Malfoy," Hermione spat, her voice getting louder. "I don't need Harry or Ron to protect me. I can bloody well protect myself."

"I know that, Granger. The thing is…" Malfoy sighed heavily, and from where Neville hid, he saw the blonde ran a hand through his hair. "I really am not in the mood on fighting you now. So, just do us all a favour and promise me, okay?"

"What do you – "

" _Granger."_

There was a pause before, "Okay. I promise."

Malfoy looked relieved and for a split second, Neville thought he saw a ghost of a smile on the other boy's pale face. Pleased with himself, he finally let go of Hermione's hands for her to go, her brown eyes still looking at him even as she walked away. Malfoy never let his eyes off Hermione until she took the stairs and disappeared, and the Slytherin let out a huge breath of relief as he lowered himself onto the ground. The boy leaned onto the wall behind him as he loosened his tie, the whole time he was completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't alone. Neville knew firsthand about Malfoy's growing relationship with Harry and his two friends (before his slip-up), saw the bullying prat went to savee the day with them. But it didn't mean that he wasn't taken aback with what he just saw. He'd never seen Malfoy looking this _human_ before, caring about someone who wasn't himself, let alone a Muggle-born. It was plain to see that Malfoy, who was the epitome of a heartless human being, genuinely _cared_ for Hermione's well-being. Neville realised that with the attacks that happened lately, it was only a matter of time it got to Hermione. Not only she was a Muggle-born, Hermione also happened to be one of the most popular Muggle-born at school, being Harry Potter's friend. It was understandable that Malfoy, if he truly cared about Hermione, would worry about her.

Neville was too lost in his thoughts regarding what he just found, he realised it a little too late when his books dropped from his bag, creating a loud thud against the floor. Malfoy jerked violently as he whipped around toward him, his wand at the ready. When the blonde saw that it was only Neville, he relaxed visibly, lowering his wand. Putting up his guards like he always, Malfoy said, "What are you doing here, Longbottom?"

It almost came like an automatic response when Neville's feet began to tremble and all of his nerves told him to run. But Dumbledore's word rang in his head, and he knew that there was a _reason_ why the Sorting Hat put him in Gryffindor. Bracing himself, Neville answered, "I…I was on the way back from the library when I… When I heard you and Hermione talking."

"What did you hear?" Malfoy drawled, his composure stiffening. It took his whole being to stop himself from running away like a coward. For someone who was only a month older than himself, Malfoy knew how to be menacing toward boys like Neville.

"I heard enough," Neville said, forcing himself to sound strong. He tried to borrow his parents' bravery into himself, and it helped a great deal.

"Really?" Malfoy pressed on, cocking an eye brow. The way he did it was to intimidate Neville, but the Gryffindor had a newfound courage already.

Proud of himself, he bravely continued."Yeah. I heard enough to come to the conclusion that you're not as bad as you wanted yourself to be."

Malfoy looked like he was going to kill Neville right then and there, and Neville was ready to bolt before Malfoy could hex him. But then Malfoy dropped his guard, and emotions began to flood in his normally-dead eyes. He looked resigned as he lowered himself to the ground again, covering his face with his hands. When he believed it was safe to approach the Slytherin, Neville carefully stepped closer, close enough that he ended up sitting beside Malfoy. There was a good few inches between them, but still. Compared to all the times when Malfoy bullied him? This was a good improvement than the ones Nevilled was used to. They were quiet for a few minutes, mulling over each other's thoughts respectively. Neville thought the blonde beside him was probably the epitome evil-since-childhood, and he couldn't just forget the fact that Malfoy's father was part of the people who had tortured his parents into insanity. True, Lucius Malfoy didn't really get his hands on Neville's parents. But his Grandma had often told him that Malfoy senior was a Death Eater, and since Death Eaters were the ones who had made his parents suffered, in Neville's opinion, it was basically the same thing. But looking at the Slytherin, he could tell that Malfoy wasn't his father.

Because Lucius Malfoy wouldn't go asking his Muggle-born nemesis to be careful.

"Will you do something for me, Longbottom?" Malfoy asked in a small voice, catching Neville off guard. For the the first time since Neville knew the Slytherin, he'd never once heard Malfoy sounded that vulnerable.

"Depends," Neville said warily. "If you want me to do something ridiculous like running around in pajamas, I might have to say no."

A look of amusement crossed the blonde's face as a small smile made an appearance. "That's actually interesting, but I'm not asking you to do that."

"What is it then?" Neville asked, curious. It doubled when he saw a serious look took over Malfoy's face as his grey eyes darkened a bit.

" _Please_ make sure Granger is never alone."

"Why – "

"And mark my words, Longbottom; if something happens to her, I'm going to hurt _you._ "

* * *

Ginny felt weird. She felt like she was losing her mind.

For the past few weeks, ever since the first attack, she always woke up in weird places, having no idea how she'd ended up there. There were long periods of time going missing from her mind. At first, she didn't give it much thought, thinking that she must have dosed off and then sleepwalked. The first time she realised something was wrong was when Filch's cat Mrs Norris was Petrified. When she heard about it, she found herself lying on the floor in front of the bathroom where Moaning Myrtle inhibited. There was chicken fur sticking to her robe, and her fingers were covered in red blood. It began to scare her because she really had no idea how she'd ended up there with the chicken fur and the blood when the last thing she remembered was going to the Great Hall for dinner. The last time it happened, Justin Finch-Fletchley was Petrified. That was when Ginny began to suspect that _she_ was the one who wrote the warnings on the wall, and that too had released the monster that had Petrified Mrs Norris and Justin. The burden of knowing that she might be behind the attacks was a little too much for her, she'd become withdrawn. She avoided people, believing that if she was alone, she wouldn't be harming people again.

Her only solace was the diary her parents bought for her. When she first wrote into her diary on the first day of school, writing about her glad she was for getting into Gryffindor, even though she was worried (and disappointed) that Ron (and a certain _someone_ ) hadn't been there during the Sorting, her writings disappeared and was replaced by someone else's. The new writings congratulated her for getting into Gryffindor and told her not to worry about her brother because he'd turn up just find. Curious, Ginny asked who was this person who had written back to her. The answer surprised her, saying that he was Tom Riddle – the _same_ Tom who owned the diary. He told her that the memory was enchanted so that his memory would be preserved in the diary. Ginny spent the whole night writing to Tom, who was so nice every time he answered her. It didn't take long for Ginny to become attached to the diary. Anywhere she went, the diary always came with her. When she wasn't doing homework, she'd be writing to Tom. People would ask her what she was doing, and she'd merely say homework. She told Tom everything, feeling that she'd finally found a true friend that would listen to her without judging her. She hadn't told him about the attacks though, or her suspicion about her part in it. She feared that once Tom found out, he'd be repulsed and would stop answering her. Ginny decided that she better kept quiet about it.

"Hello, Ginevra," a voice said one day when Ginny was sitting by the lake, writing to Tom. Turning around, the young Weasley found that it was only Luna Lovegood.

"Oh, hey Luna," Ginny answered. She didn't ask the blonde how she could know Ginny's name when she noticed how pale the other girl was, and how there were dark-circles under her eyes.

"I'm sorry for bothering you," Luna said as she sat beside Ginny. "I didn't see you doing your homework. I thought the Wrackspurt got you."

"I'm sorry – the _what?"_ Ginny repeated. But Luna didn't seem to hear her. Those huge pale-eyes of her glanced at the book in Ginny's hand before she averted her gaze toward the Lake. Swiftly, after she bade Tom farewell ( _"Gotta go, Tom. I'll talk to you again tonight."),_ Ginny pushed the diary back into her bag.

"I love it here," Luna suddenly said, still without looking at Ginny. "The Black Lake reminds me of the time my parents took me to the beach, back when my mother was alive. There were a lot of people too, families hanging out, friends joking around…"

"I'm sorry about your mother," Ginny said solemnly. Being close to her own mother, Ginny couldn't imagine herself growing up without Molly. She watched Luna crossed her hands on her lap, and she noticed how the girl's fingers trembled. A part of Ginny felt guilty because she realised, what with her pulling herself away from everyone, she'd left Luna alone. Knowing how horrible others could be toward her friend, she could tell that things hadn't been easy for Luna.

"Are you all right, Ginny?" Luna asked, catching Ginny off guard with her question, especially when she finally turned around to look at the ginger, worry filled those big eyes of hers.

"I…I'm fine," Ginny stuttered. "Why did you ask?"

Luna shrugged. "Except during class, I haven't seen you around, Gin. I'm worried about you."

"You're worried about me," Ginny repeated dumbly. Her jaw dropped when Luna nodded her head.

"Yeah. Isn't that what friends supposed to do?"

"Well yes, but…" Eyeing Luna closely, Ginny felt even more guilty. The blonde looked like she hadn't slept for days. "What about you, Luna? How are you?"

Again, Luna didn't answer her question. Instead, the Ravenclaw bluntly said, "The Petrified ones are just a step away from being dead, right? Have you ever wondered whether they've seen Heaven?"

"I- I don't know, Luna," Ginny said, frowning. "I never thought about it that way."

"No one does, I suppose," Luna said as she brought herself to stand. Dusting the strands of grass from her skirt, Luna asked one more time. "Are you sure you're alright, Ginny? You can trust me me whatever is bothering you."

It almost slipped her lips, Ginny swore. She almost told Luna right then and there. But something in her, when her eyes locked with Luna's and found a flicker of sadness in her eyes, finally decided against it. She knew that Luna was hiding her own pain, and the last thing Ginny wanted was to burden her friend with her problem.

"I'm all right, Luna. I promise," Ginny said, giving a small smile.

"Oh well," Luna said, shrugging again. "I'll leave you alone to write your diary then."

" _How could you – "_

"Just remember, Ginevra; you're _not_ alone."


	16. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 5

Work was never easy for Marlene. Being Head of the Department of International Magical, she had to travel a lot to make sure that the allies were still with them. Not to mention, there was a lot of things that the allies asked from British Ministry of Magic, and that was Marlene's job to see that all they all had what they wanted. Her Deputy, Barty Crouch, was rather bitter that someone like her, who was _much_ younger than himself, had surpassed his position because he got demoted when people spread rumours of him abusing his son. Therefore, he wasn't exactly much help for her, leaving Marlene to do almost everything. But, because of her near-death experience, she had to take five months instead of the usual three-month people took for maternity-leave. On one hand, she enjoyed staying close to her daughter for months so she could watch her little princess growing up. On the other hand, the amount of work she had to do once she came back to work was maddening. Sure, most of her paper-work was sent home during her absence so she could still do her job, lest Fudge found it as an excuse to fire her and replaced her with Crouch. But it wasn't the same like doing the actual work of coming every day to her office, sitting behind her desk for the whole day. She knew that despite having done a lot of work during her leave, by the time she came back to work, she'd have tons of work to do waiting in her office. She also didn't trust anyone to watch her daughter other than her family, but everyone had their own work to do. The Elves helped, but Marlene preferred human to take care of her child. But Sirius was going on a rescue mission, which meant Remus had to step up into Sirius' role of becoming Moody's second-in-command. What with Sirius' absence, Regulus had also decided that he would take over Sirius' Order work of spying the Old Families by becoming Acting-Head for the Sacreds. Dorcas too had her work as Chief Healer, so she couldn't stay and watch over Payne. That left Marlene with Irina, who was more than glad to help. However, Sirius gave her strict orders that no one was to leave the nurse alone at home.

Thus, Marlene came to a decision.

"Are you _sure_ it's alright for me to be here?" Irina asked as she followed Marlene to her department on the first day Marlene returned to work, pushing the double baby stroller carefully lest she'd wake up her daughter and niece. "It's the Ministry of Magic, right? And I'm a…a _Muggle_. Won't people be bothered about my being here?"

"I told people that I've appointed you to be my assisstant, my secretary of sort. And as one of the twenty senior Ministers, I have all the right to choose whoever I want to work in my department. So, if anyone has a problem about you being here, in _my_ office, they can talk about it to me," Marlene said firmly. Sensing the younger woman's anxiety, she gave Irina a small smile and clasped her hand gently on the nurse's hand. "Besides, you're the wife of Regulus Black _and_ sister-in-law to Sirius Black. You have nothing to worry about."

Relaxing slightly, Irina nodded her head. "Okay, thank you, Marlene. And, I really appreciate you trusting me enough to have me working for you. I mean, no offense, your house is nice and all, but I'd go crazy if I'd to spend another day there."

"We're practically sisters now," Marlene said, winking. "Of course, I trust you… Anyway, shall we talk about your work?"

"Oh yeah. What do you want me to do?"

"Well, to be honest, I asked you to be here so you could watch over the girls while I'd watch over you too, as per Sirius' order. But I _do_ need a hand, seeing that I'd been absent for far too long. What I need you to do is firstly, to sort things out for me. Like see this pile of papers? I want you to sort the ones that need my immediate attention and the ones that aren't that urgent. And when I say immediate, that means cases like death or riot or something that big. I also need you to manage my appointments. Except for our family, Crouch and Fudge, _everyone_ who wants to meet me has to talk to you first. The same rule goes for letters, okay? Now, about the girls, you needn't to worry so much. I assign you a private Elf that will alert you if the girls need you. You with me so far?"

"I think so…" Irina said, smiling confidently even though Marlene could see that she was still rather nervous about it. But she shrugged it aside as she took a seat behind the desk in front of Marlene's office and began her work.

Satisfied with how things went, Marlene went into her office, after she gave a gentle kiss on Payne's forehead, and settled behind her own desk to do her work. For the next few months, that was how her days went. She'd take Irina and the girls to work, made sure the Elf was avaiblable whenever Irina needed help, before headed off into her office. Sometimes, she had no idea how long she'd been focusing her attention on the pile of paper Irina had sorted, sent via-magic into her office with the help of the Elf, until her sister-in-law came into her office with lunch and their daughters in tow. They ate together, talking about the foolish things their own respective husbands often did. Marlene had forgotten the joys of having someone to talk to during work. What with her position as a senior Minister, surrounded by mostly men or women twice her age, Marlene didn't have any close work-friends. It was fun to have Irina around because the younger woman was a great company. In all the months Marlene knew the nurse, she found that the other woman reminded her a great deal of her own sister. If Ramona was still alive, her sister would be around Irina's age. Marlene had _nine_ siblings, and she was the fourth oldest. Her sister Ramona was the only girl while the rest of their siblings were all boys. Despite being five years older, Marlene and Ramona were very close. When Death Eaters came to attack her family, both McKinnon girls were the last two alive while their whole family had been killed before them. Marlene was fighting tooth-and-nail to protect her baby sister when she got struck by a spell, leaving her Stunned as she watched those evil bastards tortured Ramona. When they killed her and turned their attention on Marlene, the Gryffindor barely felt the pain that came from the Cruciatus curse because the pain in heart, the pain that came as a result of losing her family, was much stronger. The last thing she remembered before she woke up in St Mungo's weeks later, was seeing her sister's lifeless eyes as they collapsed a wall on her.

"Marlene?" Irina called. "Marlene, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry," Marlene said, blinking to clear her mind. "I dozed off a bit. What were you saying?"

"It's okay. I was uh… I was just asking you why aren't you and Sirius married. I mean, no offense, but you've been together for over a decade. Why didn't you get married?"

"Ah, the question everyone's been asking us for ages." Leaning into her chair, Marlene smiled fondly as her eyes landed on her engagement ring. "You see, Irina; Sirius and I were very independent people back in the day. We still are, I suppose. Back when we were just teenagers, we never planned on ever getting married. I was too busy on making sure I fulfilled by dream on being the youngest senior Minister _ever,_ which I am now. Sirius though, he was too busy being a rebellious prankster with his best friends. Also, he was the _biggest_ playboy Hogwarts had ever seen. But, being who he was, I guess that was understandable."

"He is rather gorgeous," Irina teased, sticking her tongue out at Marlene.

"Hey, you have your own gorgeous Black brother!" Marlene retorted good-naturedly. Both girls shared a small laugh before Marlene continued. "Anyway, we used to hate each other. I hated him because he was a troublemaking lazy-arse who got the whole world kissing his feet. Sirius hated me because I was the only girl, other than Harry's mother Lily, who wasn't fawning over him. We started to become civil somewhere in our sixth year, when Sirius had a huge fight with his friends and all three of them wouldn't talk to him. He looked so miserable for the rest of the year that Lily and I actually took a pity on him. We became friends ever since then, and even made a scheme to get James and Lily together. Long story short, James and Lily weren't the only ones who ended up together. Somewhere during the hours we spent plotting the ultimate ways to get James and Lily together, we fell in love with each other."

Marlene stopped for awhile, a sad smile appeared on her pretty face as memories of James and Lily flashed in her mind. If James had his Marauders, Lily had her own close friends too. Consisted of Marlene and Dorcas, the three girls always found it hilarious that they ended up dating the boys who were best friends with each other too.

 _("I've talked to Remus and he agreed that we should have a tripple wedding!")_

 _("Uh, big no, Meadowes. I don't think Sirius could handle sharing the spotlight.")_

 _("Neither would James. God, those two boys are bad influences for each other.")_

"Then? What happened?" Iris asked, genuine curiosity on her face.

"Sirius and I didn't really think that marriage was necessary. I mean, we love each other already, and marriage at the times of war would just distract us from much important things. The only reason Sirius proposed to me was when I nearly died during a Death Eater ambush. It didn't offend me though, because if there is anything Sirius and I have in common, it's the fact that we both are practical and rational people. We plan things, though most of the time, the best things that happened to us were things that we didn't plan. Like, I'd _never_ regret having Payne. Yes, I did say that raising a child wasn't exactly the right thing to do during a time of war, especially when said future-parents were active participants of the war. But whenever I see my baby girl, I know I've made the right decision to _not_ kick a drunk Sirius out of our room that night almost a year ago."

"I think that's too much information for me, Mar," Irina laughed. "Sirius is already like a brother to me by now, and technically, he _is_ my brother through marriage. I really don't want to know what you two did in your room."

"Well, it wasn't limited to – "

" _Marlene!"_

Both women errupted in laughter, cackling loudly like hyenas. Taking deep breaths to stop herself from laughing until all that was left was soft giggles, Marlene glanced at her watch and saw that lunch break was over. Still with a smile on her face, she said, "All right, Mrs Black, break is over. We should get back to wo – "

The former Gryffindor trailed off as she watched her husband's Patronus waltzed into the room, the huge silvery dog bounded all over the room before it stopped by her feet. From the corner of her eye, she saw Irina paled slightly because, in all the months they lived together, a Patronus rarely meant a good thing. With baited breath, the both of them braced themselves for Sirius' message.

 _"Just got back from mission. We got Charlie, but something happened. Get the Weasleys for me and take them to St Mungo's immediately."_

* * *

 _("You've done terrible things, Lucius. I don't know if I can forgive you.")_

 _("It's okay. As long as you and Draco are safe, I'll take anything.")_

Quite contrary to what most believed, Lucius Malfoy did love his family. He would go to the end of the world for them, would move heaven and earth for them. He didn't show his affections much, but hopefully, his family knew that there was nothing in this world that he wouldn't do for them. That was part of the reason why he joined the Dark Lord's league of Death Eaters. Yes, the main reason he joined was because he saw how right _he_ was about his mission to erradicate the world of Mudbloods and Muggles. However, Lucius had a problem about him answering to _anyone,_ even if that was the most evil wizard of all times. Malfoys _didn't_ follow, they led people. But when the Dark Lord threatened to hurt his then newly-married wife, Lucius had no choice. So he doned the black robes, and the silver mask, and did every single one of the evil bastard's bidding, all to make sure his family was safe and sound. He would never admit it to anyone, but when he heard that the Potters had defeated the Dark Lord, though with the cost of their own lives, Lucius couldn't help but to feel immensely relieved. He did have things to explain to the Ministry, but it paled in comparison with the fact that his family didn't have to suffer similar fates like other Pureblood families who defied the Dark Lord.

People always thought that Lucius was a cold father and husband toward his family, and though it pained him to hide his affections whenever they were in public, Lucius knew that it was needed to ensure his family's safety. The Dark Lord, no matter how great he was, could never understand that love _really_ was the most powerful thing in the world. In his all his wretched life, Lucius had witnessed many times how love was able to do things he thought was impossible. Yes, sometimes he did foolish things to protect his family because of his love for them. When he heard that the Dark Lord was coming back, Lucius rushed off to do things that would guarantee the safety of his family again. It didn't mean he wasn't ashamed. His conscience was still bothering whenever he thought of how he poisoned Marlene McKinnon, or how he 'accidentally' dropped the Dark Lord's diary into the Weasley girl's cauldron. But, at the end of the day, it was worth it when he came home and saw them lounging doing their respective activities instead of burried under the ground, dead. He realised that all those things he did would come back to him in the future, that he would have to pay for what he did. But he would take every punishment in the world, would die a thousand deaths, if it meant that no one he loved was hurt.

"Father?" Draco called, knocking on the door gently even though urgency coloured his tone. Lucius blinked once, taking his eyes off his fireplace and turned to Draco.

"Yes, son?" Lucius said, silently noting how much Draco had grown in the past two years. A part of him ached as he remembered the days Draco used to sit on his lap as they read the papers together.

 _(My son, you'd be a man in no time and soon, I wouldn't be able to protect you anymore.)_

"The Midwife said it's time. And Mother wanted you to be there."

Lucius swallowed heavily but nodded his head bravely. Lifting himself from his seat he said, "Very well. Let's go now."

The blonde Pureblood followed his son toward the chamber that he held his wife, trying all his might to hide the slight trembled in his hands by hiding them in his pockets. Twelve years ago, when Draco was born, Lucius wasn't there until fourteen hours after his son's birth. He was in the middle of a Muggle raid, and he dared not to leave his post. Draco never knew it but every time the older Malfoy looked at his son, he still felt guilty about the fact that he wasn't there for his birth. Now, twelve years later, Lucius would be see the birth of his _second_ child. His heart clenched at the thought that Narcissa originally tried to hide her pregnancy from him, for fear that Lucius' connection to the Dark would harm their unborn child. It was because of Sirius Black's keen eyes, when the Malfoys visited the Black-Lupin household for Lucius to report his assignment from Black, the day before the Auror left for his secret mission, that Lucius finally found out that his wife was already _three months_ pregnant. Judging from how Draco paled slightly, it seemed that Lucius was the only one who hadn't known. It hurt him to think that Narcissa didn't trust him enough to know that he had _another_ child, but he tried to shrug it aside. In the end, she explained everything to him and he understood. If he was in her place, he would do the same thing as well. Taking a deep breath, he flashed Draco a small smile before he entered the chamber where his wife was waiting.

Approximately around fifteen minutes and three fingers later, the loud cries of a newborn baby was heard echoing all over the Malfoy Manor, and Lyra Narcissa Malfoy was born.

The _first_ female Malfoy in almost _two centuries._

"Mr Malfoy? Mr Malfoy, do you want to hold your daughter?" the Midwife said, giving Lucius a small smile as she bounced the newly-cleaned baby in her arms.

"I- I… Sure, I'll hold her," Lucius stuttered, taking a step closer toward the Midwife, Narcissa's weak but supportive smile was the only thing that convinced him he wouldn't mess things up completely.

After making sure that he was clean enough to touch his daughter, Lucius carefully transferred the baby into his arms from the Midwife. If he ever had any doubts about his love and affection toward the baby, which he _didn't,_ it surely disappeared the moment he had his newborn baby in his arms. Little Lyra, who already looked so much like her mother, held Lucius around her little finger the same way her older brother did all those years ago. From that moment on, Lucius knew, that he would _die_ for her like he did for his wife and his son. He felt a bit weak in the knees, and quickly went to sit on a chair beside Narcissa's bed, fearing that if he fell, he'd hurt the baby. He heard his wife asking to show her the baby, so he complied. Tilting a little bit in his seat, he leaned forward so Narcissa could take a look on their daughter. He watched in awe when the baby opened her eyes, those blue of eyes that she shared only with her mother and her late maternal grandmother, looked at him with something akin to wonder. He knew that Lyra couldn't see yet, but he liked to think that the girl had latched her affections to him. Lucius gave a kiss on Lyra's forehead when his eyes caught Draco peeking out from behind the door. Feeling giddy, Lucius let out a small chuckle as he called Draco to come in and meet his new sister.

"Meet little Lyra, Draco," Lucius said, using his head to beckon his son to come closer. "And Lyra, meet your brother Draco."

Both Malfoy parents watched their eldest taking cautious steps toward his father, carefully peering over Lucius' shoulder to finally have a look on his sister. The young Slytherin opened his mouth before closing it, appearing to have changed his mind. Instead, Draco reached out to gently caress his sister's cheek, smiling fondly when Lyra snuggled into his palm. Lucius' heart bloomed in pride when he heard Draco said, "Hi, Lyra. I'm Draco, your brother. I know I'm much older than you are, but I promise that I'll be the best friend for you. I promise that I'll protect you, always. I promise that I'll never let anything or anybody to hurt you."

Lucius did a lot of bad things in his life, and he knew that his involvement in the War meant that he was living on borrowed time. Sooner or later, he would have to leave his family behind to protect them. But, looking at Draco, who lovingly kissed his newborn sister as he held his mother's hand firmly, Lucius knew that his son would take his place and be the better man than he ever was.

If Lucius was to die that day, he trusted Draco to protect Narcissa and Lyra.


	17. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 6

**NOTES:** The song is titled _Better Love_ by Hozier. It's really beautiful. You guys should check it out ;) And if you guys like it, or have other songs you want to suggest to me, feel free to do so :D

* * *

 ** _"I once kneeled in shaking thrill. I chase the memory of it still, of every chill."_**

It was three months of absolute hell as she and Sirius tried to fight off not only the wild and savage beasts getting in their way, along with the thousands of lethal dark spells. They also had to fight the forest itself that was _alive_ and was adamant to kill them. It wasn't easy at all, and once, Tonks wondered whether it would be all too late by the time they got to Charlie. But in the end, they finally found him. Tonks felt like she couldn't breathe when she heard Sirius sent his Patronus to her one day when he was out looking for something edible, saying that he'd found Charlie. Tonks spared no time and went out for Sirius, who hadn't gone that far off from their camp. Her heart stopped in her chest as her eyes landed on the crouched figure of the older Auror, kneeling beside someone who Tonks knew _so well._ There he was, the man she'd risked her life for, lying on the ground like some forgotten luggage. He was stripped naked and was curling into himself like a cat, not moving an inch even as Sirius carefully poked him in the shoulder. His back was whipped raw, and his limbs were twisted in a painful angle. Tonks herself was sporting a terrible limp and she just got bashed in the head the other day after fighting some nasty manticores. But when she saw Charlie, she forgot everything and sprinted toward him, the pain she felt had gone into dull ache. She took her position across Sirius, kneeling on the ground as she carefully moved Charlie's head onto her lap, making sure that she wasn't injuring him any further. The redheaded Gryffindor was so still and his skin was so pale he looked almost transluscent. He felt cold _and_ lifeless under he fingers. For a moment, she thought that was it; that Charlie had died and everything was for nothing. The world felt like ended for Tonks as the thought of losing the man she loved. But then, Charlie let out a small moan, even though it was barely audible. Hope filled Tonks once again as she took off her boots, turned it into a Portkey, and rushed off to St Mungo's, not even bothering to tell Sirius where she had gone.

 ** _"Chided by that silence of a hush sublime. Blind to the purpose of the brute divine."_**

That was for months ago.

 _Four months._

 ** _"But you were mine."_**

It had been four months since they rescued Charlie Weasley, and so far, the dragonologist hadn't shown any sign of waking up.

Tonks was starting to get _really_ desperate.

 ** _"Staring in the blackness at some distant start."_**

When she popped in lobby of St Mungo's with Charlie on her lap, still kneeling, she didn't have to explain things to the Healers because it seemed that Sirius had beat her to it and was already there, waiting with Dorcas Lupin and a group of the best Healers he could find. Together, they transferred the horribly injured man onto the bed, and sent them into a ward where the Healers could quickly start on saving Charlie's life. At first, Tonks demanded that she had to come in with them because she couldn't bear the thought of losing Charlie when she wasn't there for him. But Sirius convinced her that it was best for her to wait outside with him, and because she always knew that it was useless to argue with Sirius, she obeyed. She waited for ten long hours with the older Auror, and staring blankly at her feet as she held Sirius' hand, flinching every time she heard Charli yelling loudly in pain. When the Weasleys came with Marlene about half an hour after her arrival, she barely acknowledged them. She was thankful for Sirius' presence, who calmly explained everything even as he let Tonks to practically crushed his fingers in her grip. She would have pitied the family, especially toward Molly who looked like she was on the verge of going hysterical. But Tonks herself was having problem on schooling her emotions. She vaguely noticed that everyone was quiet as they waited for news on Charlie. Tonks even considered on praying to that old deity her father used to worship, but when she noticed that her clothes were drenched in blood ( _Charlie's blood),_ she decided against it, believing that Jesus would prefer her in a cleaner condition. It felt like hours until Dorcas came out of the room, looking tired as hell but a small smile was decorating her pretty face, telling Tonks all the good news she needed to hear.

 ** _"The thrill of knowing how alone we are, unknown we are."_**

"You should get some sleep," a voice said, catching Tonks off her guard. In her shock, she whipped around toward the door, wand at the ready. Bill Weasley was standing there, calmly staring back at her, hands in his pockets.

"Oh, it's you," Tonks sighed. She turned her back to Bill and focused again on her unconscious lover. Feeling a little self-conscious about the fact that she was holding Charlie's hand in front of his older brother, Tonks rather briskly added, "You know, you shouldn't sneaked up on an Auror like that. If it was Moody, he would have kiled you on the spot."

 ** _"To the wild and to the both of us. I confessed the longing I was dreaming of."_**

"I believe that. You've got great reflexes," Bill said to the younger girl, tilting his head slightly as he took a seat beside the young Auror. "No wonder Auror Black trusted you to go with him."

"I think we both know the _real_ reason why Sirius asked me to come with him," Tonks scoffed lightly.

 ** _"And I've never loved a darker blue, than the darkness I have known in you, own from you."_**

"Ah yes," Bill said, smiling. Tonks felt him staring at her closely as he leaned back into his seat, and she tried hard not to fidget. Minutes passed until Bill spoke again. "You know, I've always liked you better than Charlie's other girls. Since the first time he mentioned you to me in his first year, I knew that you had my brother wrapped around your finger. And it took me only _two weeks_ to realise that my brother fell for you almost immediately the moment he laid his eyes on you."

" _What?"_ Tonks nearly yelped, looking at Bill in disbelief. The curse-breaker gave a cheeky smile, and for a moment, his similarities with his brother were uncanny.

 ** _"You, whose heart would sing of anarchy."_**

"He _always_ talks about you, you know. Even after your break-up, whenever he wrote to me or Flooed me, Charlie would always talk about you. His whole life revolves around you, Tonks. It _ruined_ him when you guys broke up."

 ** _"You would laugh at meanings, guarantees, so beautifully."_**

"Well, _he_ was the one who suggested it!" Tonks retorted. "I told him that I'd be willing to try distance-relationship with him. I told him that I'd _wait_ for him, forever if I have to. But _no,_ your brother said that it wouldn't work. Now, you're telling me that _he_ was ruined?"

 ** _"When our truth is burned from history, by those who figured justice in fond memory, witness me."_**

"No one ever said Charlie was smart, Tonks," Bill chuckled, rolling his eyes affectionately as he turned his eyes toward his brother. "And even though he was the only playboy between us and Percy, when it comes to you, my brother could be _very_ dumb. He probably thought that by letting you go, he was becoming the hero."

"You knew this and you didn't reprimand him that he was being stupid?"

 ** _"Like fire weeping from a cedar tree. Know that my love would burn eternally."_**

"Of course, I did. But, we both know how Charlie is, right? Bloody moron is too stubborn for his own good. The reason I'm here, however, is not to talk about my idiotic brother and his wonderful stubborn tendencies. No, Tonks, that's not why I'm here."

"I know why you're here, Bill. And I thought you'd know by now what my answer is. I mean, I risked my _life_ to save the idiot. Figured that was quite self-explanatory."

 ** _"We'll live eternally."_**

The older Weasley brother chuckled again, and Tonks noticed he looked like a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders when he heard her answer. Crossing his arms on the back of his head, Bill winked at her and said, "That's a relief. Now, all we need is for Charlie to – "

Bill froze about the same time Tonks did, his eyes landed on the hand that had gripped Tonks. With wide eyes, the young Auror and the curse-breaker realised that Charlie had woken up. The redheaded dragonologist let out a soft moan, followed by a whimper when he failed to move his bandaged arm. In his unconscious mind, Tonks realised that Charlie probably thought the bandages were restrains, and he was probably brought back into the memories of his days being tortured. The Auror hastily told Bill to get Dorcas or other senior Healers as she herself tried to calm Charlie. She leaned toward him, using her free-hand to stroke his hair as gently as she could, lest she'd hurt him. However, the moment her palm touched him, Charlie began to jerk wildly, trying all his might to free himself off the bandages. He began to scream and yell, twisting and turning against his bandages, and Tonks feared that he'd only injure himself further. She could already see blood seeping out of the bandages, tainting the whites and turning them into red. Panic began to consume her, and she yelled for Bill to _hurry the bloody up, you idiot!_ Desperate, Tonks came up with the only thing she hoped would calm Charlie down. Wishing to every powerful being that was responsible for her life, Tonks carefully straddled her lover, narrowly dodging Charlie's fist toward her nose. Pinning the dragonologist's hands to his sides, Tonks quickly but gently pressed her lips on Charlie, the whole time she whispered assurance between kisses. When she felt him calming down slightly, she dared herself to let go one hand so she could touch Charlie's face. The redhead let out a small sigh as he pressed his face into Tonks hand, the whole time never stopping the kiss. Tonks was reluctant to stop the kiss, but she heard Bill was coming with the Healers, so she pulled back.

And found Charlie's blue eyes staring right into her purple ones.

 ** _"Cause there's no better love."_**

"Charlie?" she whispered, barely acknowledging the fact that Bill and Dorcas had come into the room, along with three other Healers. "Charlie, can you hear me?"

 ** _"That beckons above me."_**

Those blue eyes blinked once before Charlie nodded slowly. A small smile was about to appear on Tonks' face when she saw Charlie swallowed heavily and opened his mouth to speak for the first time in four months.

 ** _"That ever has loved me."_**

"I- I'm sorry but…" Charlie swallowed one more time, the effort he took to talk seemed painful. Taking a deep breath, he continued the next three words that would change Tonks' life forever. " _Who are you?"_

 ** _"Darling, there's no better love."_**

And her world ended.

* * *

Harry watched a glum Malfoy from where he was lying in his bed, cringing a bit when he felt the Skele-Gro he drank started to work on growing his bones again. He felt bad for winning, which was something he never felt before. Regulus had told him to go easy on the Slytherin, telling him that originally, Malfoy auditioned for Chaser, not Seeker. He was a great flyer, but because he was a Chaser, no matter how hard he tried to practise, Malfoy could never beat Harry. It was actually a great feat for the blonde for winning against other teams, catching the Snitch before other Seekers who were actually pretty good themselves. It was spectacular how Malfoy managed to do that. But if he had to go against Harry, he would lose. Harry would probably deal with the same problem if _he_ was the one who had to go for Chaser position. The Gryffindor saw the look on Malfoy's face when he fell because he failed to catch the Snitch, the utmost disappoinment and huge embarrassment he felt upon losing _and_ falling. Yes, Harry was still angry at him for calling Hermione the M-word that day when the whole Gryffindor team _and_ Hermione teased him about getting into the team through bribery. But Harry knew that Malfoy could be a good person if he was given the chance. If only Malfoy had better control on both his mouth and emotion, Harry was pretty sure that they'd be _real_ friends by then.

"Hey, Malfoy," Harry called. The blonde, who was about to leave the Hospital Wing, turned his attention toward him.

"Yeah?" Malfoy replied, tilting his head to the side.

"You uh… You were great today. Like, really great."

Harry swore that for a moment, he thought he saw the Slytherin smiled. But, as always, he schooled his features, even as he flatly said, "You don't have to say that, Potter. You win, I lose. No need to make excuses for me."

"Regulus told me about everything, you know," Harry said carefully, watching as Malfoy's pale-complexion turned darker when he blushed. "He told me that you were actually a Chaser. So, I perfectly understand it."

"Well, you're the only one," Malfoy sighed, running a hand through his hair. "No one would believe me if I told them I originally tried out for the Chaser position. They'd think I was lying."

"But if you win the next game against Ravenclaw, which I bet you will, you'll have another chance against me, if I win against Hufflepuff." By that point, Harry noticed that Malfoy was quite comfortable enough to take a seat on the chair beside Harry's bed.

"Of _course_ you'll win against Hufflepuff," Malfoy snorted, rolling his eyes. "Diggory may be a fair flyer, but even _I_ win against him. Obviously, you'll beat him by a thousand points."

"Whoa, take that down a few notches, Malfoy. You're being _too nice_ now. People might start to think you secretly have feelings for me," Harry joked. He laughed when the blonde glared at him, glad that he'd managed to make a small grin to appear on Malfoy's face. After all, they _were_ on their way to becoming friends.

"In your dreams, Potter," Malfoy spat, cheekily lifting his feet off the ground before slamming _not_ so gently on Harry's own feet. Crossing his arms together, the young Pureblood continued, rather sadly. "Besides, you should know by now who _exactly_ holds my affections."

Malfoy's words sobered Harry up, and it made the Gryffindor sighed heavily. " _She_ cried when you called her that, you know. Cried for the whole day, she did."

"I know… I mean, if she cried for over an hour when Weasle called her a know-it-all, I could only imagine what she did after I called her that word."

"Believe it or not, I sort of understand why you lashed out that day. But it doesn't mean I forgave you for what you did to her. Hermione's already like a sister to me, and seeing that you just had one yourself, you probably understand how _angry_ I actually am at you. You _hurt_ her, Malfoy. I should be downright ballistic."

Whatever reply Malfoy said was lost to Harry's ears because at that moment, he heard the voices again. The same voices in the walls he heard before Mrs Norris and Justin were Petrified. He vaguely heard Malfoy called his name, but Harry waved his hand to silent the other boy, this time determined to find out the source of the voice. The look on his must have alerted Malfoy because he started to stiffen in his seat as he too looked around the room, probably sort of expecting whatever monster that had unleashed the horrors at school would made an appearance into the room. Both boys jumped about a foot in the air, letting our an identical scream when _Dobby_ the House Elf suddenly popped out of the blue. Trying not to scowl lest it'd urge the Elf to start hurting himself again because he thought he'd upset Harry, the Gryffindor took deep breaths to calm his racing heart beat. This was the second time he saw Dobby, the first time was the last day of his summer, warning him that he better stayed at home because something would try to hurt him if he went for his second year. Harry was about to _kindly_ reprimand Dobby when the Elf noticed Malfoy for the first time, and his huge eyes widened in proportion as he cowered under the bed.

"Young Master Draco!" the Elf squeaked, trembling from top to toe even as he made an awkward boy toward the Slytherin.

"Dobby?" Malfoy uttered, frowning. "What are you doing here? I thought you should be at home."

"Hang on," Harry interrupted before Dobby could answer. "You _belong_ to Malfoy?"

"Well, not exactly," Malfoy explained without looking at Harry, his grey eyes, almost similar to Sirius' and Payne's, squinted at Dobby's cowering figure. "Dobby is my father's personal Elf."

"Dobby is sorry, Master Draco," Dobby said. "I mean no disobedience to the Malfoy family. And I mean no harm to Harry Potter, sir."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, at the same time Malfoy said, "What have you done, Dobby?"

Glancing between both boys, Dobby finally said, "It is Dobby who seal the portal so Mr Potter cannot come through. Dobby hear Master Lucius talk about the Chamber and – "

"And you figure you should warn him because you fear my father is going to do something evil," Malfoy finished in a drawl. Frowning until his eyes turned into slit, the Slytherin said, "Tell me, Dobby; was that _you_ who jinxed the Bludger?"

"Dobby mean no harm," the Elf repeated. "It is better for Mr Potter to leave school when he can."

" _Are you crazy?_ " Harry hissed, losing his patience. "You almost _killed_ me, and you almost got me and Ron _expelled_!"

"Dobby is sorry! I only want Mister Potter to be safe." As if to prove his point, Dobby reached for Harry's hand patted it gently. If he hadn't injured his arm, Harry would probably snap Dobby's neck into two. He was _that_ angry.

"Potter, calm down," Malfoy said, eyeing Harry closely, obviously knowing what had crossed the Gryffindor's mind. "The Elf is a bit dumb, but he only means well. If he said that he was trying to help you, then that's exactly what he meant."

"Fine," Harry huffed, rolling his eyes. "But I want you to deal with him, Malfoy."

"Alright… Dobby, promise Potter you'll _never_ try to help him again, okay? If you disobey, I'll tell Father what you've done."

"Thank you, Master Draco," Dobby said with teary eyes, bowing until his nose touched the floor. "Young Master is so kind. Dobby promise Dobby will be a good Elf. Dobby promise Dobby will – "

" _Sshh!"_ Harry and Malfoy hushed in unison, both apparently heard the commotion outside. Voices of their professors were heard and the both of them glanced at each other worriedly. Harry was supposed to be asleep already while Malfoy was supposed to be in his common room.

And Dobby _wasn't_ supposed to be there.

"Malfoy, tell Dobby to go away," Harry said quickly, panicking slightly.

"Dobby," Malfoy said curtly, nodding his head.

"Sir!" the Elf squeaked for the last time, snapping his fingers and disappeared. Harry had already started on pulling the curtains around the bed when Malfoy turned to help him.

"Thanks," Harry grunted, the extra movement he did caused quite the pain to his healing arm. "Now, get on the bed so no one will see your feet."

"I'm _not_ getting onto the bed with you, Potter!"

" _Just do it, Malfoy!"_

If looks could kill, Harry was sure he'd be dead by the glare the blonde set on him. But, thankfully, Malfoy obliged, even if he muttered curses under his breath. He was right on time because just when both boys crossed their feet together, the door to the Hospital Wing slammed opened and the voices they heard entered the room. With wide eyes, they shared a look when they heard that Colin Creevey and Nearly-Headless Nick were Petrified. They both flinched at the sound of the small explosion Colin's camera made when they heard Dumbledore tried to examine it. Both boys listened to the conversation their professors made, Harry's heart stopping slightly at the possibility of the school closing because of all the attacks. It felt like hours when the professors finally left, leaving Harry and Malfoy still remarkably shocked at what they just heard.

"They're going to close the school," Harry muttered. "That's bad. Like, _really_ bad."

"I know," Malfoy said darkly. He looked to be in thought about something before a determined look flashed in his grey eyes, apparently making up his mind about something. "Hey, Potter? Come meet me in that empty room of the three-headed dog was last year, yeah? I'll tell you _everything_ I know about the Chamber of Secrets. But you _cannot_ tell anyone that you know about it from me."

"Okay," Harry agreed. "I'll meet you there during lunch break – _where are you going?_ "

Malfoy had jumped off the bed and was pushing the curtains off his way. Turning around, he actually looked genuinely amused at Harry's question. "I'm going back to my common room, Potter. Pretty sure people would ask all the wrong question if they found me here with you in the morning."

Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Stop joking around, you stupid prat. I asked because I actually worried about your safety if you go alone all the way to the dungeon."

For the first time ever, Malfoy smiled at hime. It was a real smile, not a smirk or even a grin. The bloody git really _smiled_ at Harry. Letting out a soft chuckle, he said, "It's really sweet that you're worried about me, Potter. But trust me, I'll be okay."

As Malfoy gave a mock-salute toward him before he exited the room, Harry thought that he nearly believed the blonde's words. _Nearly_ was the key word.

If only Harry hadn't watched the prat nearly _died_ last year because of a troll.

Quite contrary to what most would believe, the young Malfoy was surprisingly much to self-sacrificing for his own good.


	18. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 7

**NOTES:** I am sorry for the rather long wait. I have been bedridden for the past two weeks. Actually, I'm still feeling rather ill at the moment... Anyway, I hope you like the newest chapter. I'm sorry if you don't. I know it's not an excuse but I'm blaming my being sick lol.

* * *

He was frustrated.

He was frustrated _and_ confused.

It had been two weeks since he woke up from the comatose state he suffered, from what he'd been told. When he woke up that day to the feeling of soft lips on his own, seeing that _beautiful_ young woman on top of him staring into his eyes with concern evident in those purple eyes of hers, he'd been introduced into the life he had forgotten. He was told that he was kidnapped and was tortured for probably around six months until he was rescued. But he knew all that. He knew that he was a wizard named Charlie Weasley, a dragonologist who was born into one of the biggest wizarding family in Europe. He remembered most of his childhood – except the part where _she_ was involved. He remembered his days working as a dragonologist, up until the day where he was presumed missing and kidnapped by Death Eaters. After sometime, Charlie realised that his memories of her had a _huge_ chance of being connected to his memories prior his kidnapping. Every time he tried to remember things regarding her or his kidnapping, he came with nothing _(well, after an unbearable killer-headache)._ His Healer, Dorcas Lupin, told him that there were traces of magic in him that might become the reason of his memory lost. She, however, couldn't determine what kind of spells were used on him, seeing that his body had gone through so much spells. But Healer Lupin theorised that there was a big possibility that he was tortured to give out a specific memory that he had erased by using the Memory Charm on himself. It didn't take long for him to realise that the information the Death Eaters wanted from him was of _her,_ but the why was something he wished he knew.

After he woke up, the Healers didn't waste time on checking up his condition. He was asked about a thousand questions, examined like a rab rat going through a billion spells. But his attention was all set on the purple-eyed woman. The moment he asked her who she was, the look on her face was like he just stabbed her with a knife. He knew right away that whoever she was to him, the woman _definitely_ cared about him. If it was the other way around, and he was the one whose beloved _(was it really?)_ suffering from a case of amnesia, Charlie would probably go hysterical. But the woman merely stepped back and let the herd of Healers did their work. He saw his older brother Bill gave the woman a hug, and for a split second, he felt a huge sense of _jealousy_ toward his brother. It was obvious that the woman's feeling wasn't one-sided, seeing how he would have punched his brother if he wasn't wretchedly weak and bedridden. Once Healer Lupin was satisfied that he'd make a full recovery soon, he was sort of hoping that he would see the purple-eyed woman again. He was a bit disappointed when he saw his family came rushing into the room instead, with his mother on the lead, smothering him in maternal nonsense before he could see it coming. It was nice to feel his mother's arm around him, and there was a moment where he felt like he was a kid again, and his mother would give him a kiss after he skinned his knee. But he was an adult now, and that adult part of him knew that his mother wasn't the only important woman in his life anymore. He wanted to ask who that woman was, but he didn't have enough strength to do anything much other than letting his family surrounded him with hugs and, in the case of his mother and sister, kisses. So he waited. He waited for her to come, eyes set on the door like a guard dog, expecting her to come through the door every time a Healer pushed it open.

He waited for two weeks and four days until she _finally_ came.

"Took you long enough," he said when she sneaked into his room in the middle of the night. He didn't know why but that night, he _knew_ that she was coming. Upon hearing his voice, she whirled around, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"D-do you remember me?" she stuttered, her vibrant purple-eyes looked hopeful. Charlie felt like the biggest arse in the world when he shook his head, especially when he saw the broken look in her eyes, along with the resignation.

"I'm sorry," Charlie said softly. "I wish I did though. I'd love to know you."

She looked surprised. Charlie happily noted that the hopeful look returned to her face.

"Why…why would you?" she carefully asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. I just…" Charlie sighed, running a hand through his hair, grimacing when his broken hand protested. "I feel like there must be a reason why I couldn't remember you."

"Oh," she muttered, and she looked disappointed once again. But a mask of indifference was on her face before Charlie could inquire her what was wrong. Tilting her head up a bit, she said, "Well, I- I got here because my superior wanted to see how you were doing. Seeing that…seeing that you're well and all, I guess I better be going."

 _No._

Charlie had waited _far_ too long for her to come, and he was _not_ going to let her go.

 _(And he had a feeling he'd done that stupid thing_ many _times in the past.)_

"Stay. I _beg_ you _,"_ he whispered right before her hand opened the door. "I meant it when I said I'd love to know about you. So, please. _Tell me._ "

"Uh, okay," she said in a small voice. She took tentative steps toward him, and it felt like hours when she finally sat on the empty seat beside him. Swallowing heavily, she said, "What…what do you want to know about?"

"Everything. Tell me everything about you. Like, your name. I _still_ don't know your name."

"Right… Well um, my name is Nymphadora Carina Tonks, but I prefer Tonks because Nymphadora is a stupid name. I'm a Metamorphmagus, which is obviously from my mother's side of the family because my father is a Muggle-born. My parents are Ted and Andromeda Tonks. You and I went to Hogwarts in 1984, but I was sorted into Hufflepuff and you were in Gryffindor. I'm an only child because according to my mother, I was quite a handful child so another one of me would probably drive her mad." She paused and let out a fond laughter before she continued. "Mum always tells me that I'm much like her cousin, Sirius Black. She probably nearly had a heart attack when I told her I wanted to be an Auror like Sirius, which I am, by the way. I'm officially an Auror since a year ago."

"Of course you are. You _saved_ me after all," Charlie said, remembering what one of the many Healers spoke between themselves when they thought he was asleep. He glanced at Tonks' hand on the bed beside his, and he discreetly moved his hand a few inches closer toward hers. "Thank you, by the way. Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome," Tonks said, flashing him a small smile. He wished she would smile more. He wished he could forever take away that pain and sadness from her, and then he would replace it with a life time of happiness.

 _(But why did he care?)_

 _(Hell if he knew it.)_

"Tell me something about us. Tell me how did we first meet. Tell me what I was to you."

By then, Charlie's hand had reached out far enough that his fingers were grazing Tonks knuckles. She jerked but didn't pull away when he tried to hold her hand. Looking at their intertwinted hands before looking into his eyes, she took a deep breath to brace herself. For a moment, all Charlie could think of was the fact that this _remarkable_ woman, who had no doubt risked her own life to save him, was holding _his_ hand. If Charlie was to die that night, he would gladly welcome death because she was there with him.

"You were my best friend," Tonks said, her voice wavered a bit. "We'd only started school for a week when you came to scare away the girls who had bullied me. We became very close ever since then. That's all about us, really."

"You're hiding something from me," Charlie said, knowing that there was something she wasn't telling him. He almost grinned when he saw her blushed slightly.

"I did _not._ "

"Did too."

"Pfft… Why would I do that?"

"Oh, I don't know. _Why_ did you?"

A full-blown grin escaped Charlie when she glared at him. He chuckled slightly, careful not to upset his internal injuries, when she rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Merlin, you are _so_ childish, Weasley," she spat out though a ghost of a smile crossed her face.

"Please, tell me," Charlie said seriously, sobering up. "I mean, you did agree to do so. And I promise, I'd accept whatever you say with an opened mind."

Tonks looked at him, and the look on her face was so painful for Charlie to look at. It was as if something causing her worse than physical pain. Grimacing, she forlornly said, "I wanted to tell you the truth, Charlie. I really do, I swear. But I can't tell you the truth with jeopardising your condition, without the risk of tempering your memories even more."

Charlie sighed, knowing that there was no changing her mind. He stroked her knuckles gently with his thumb, feeling frustrated because he _knew_ that he and Tonks shared something more than friendship in the past. He could tell that what exactly the young Auror was hiding from him, but he opted not to press her further about it.

"Fine, I won't make you tell me about it," Charlie relented. "But, will you do something for me?"

Tilting her head to the side, she immediately looked alert. "What is it? What do you need?"

"It's nothing important," he said, grinning sheepishly, feeling like a school-boy all over again. "I just… I want to see you. The _real_ you, without the Glamour of your Metamorphmagus. I mean, not that I don't like this version of you. I just – _why are you crying?"_

Charlie panicked slightly when he saw tears started to fall profusely down Tonks' face and onto their clapsed hands. Letting out a wet laugh, she shook her head and said, "It's nothing. I just got a bit sentimental for a moment."

"Why? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Using her free hand to shed her tears, she tried to smile at him through her left-over tears. "You know, back then, you were the _only_ one who knew about how I really looked. Even when we were kids, I always kept a few parts of myself different because I didn't really like myself. Other than my parents and Sirius, you were the only person who knew the real me."

"And I'd love to know you again," Charlie said as he pulled her hand to his lips so he could kiss it softly, brushing his lips gently against her trembling knuckles. " _Please."_

She looked like she was going to cry again, but then she seemed to change her mind. She nodded her head, as if to agree to his request. Closing her eyes, she scrunched her face as her appearance shifted back to its natural one. Charlie watched in fascination when her bubblegum-pink hair darkened to its original light-brown colour, and her purple eyes had changed into the most beautiful pair of brown eyes. The bone-structure of her face sharpened more to fit her Black-genes heritage, her tanned skin lightened. But Charlie saw that there was definitely a part of her father in her here and there. She looked almost shy once her change was finish, lowering her head slightly as an adorable blush tinted her pale-cheeks. He had no idea why she was even insecure about how she looked. Looking at her as she moved restlessly in her seat, unable to meet his eyes and settled on staring at their clasped hands instead, Charlie thought that he'd _never_ seen anyone more beautiful than the amazing woman in front of him. Yes, that façade she put on for the whole world to see was attractive. But for him, this shy yet brave young woman who had saved his life, whose hair fell in perfect waves around her beautiful face as she peered through the loose strands, her doe-like eyes met his blue ones nervously… _She_ was definitely the epitome of perfection to him.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked nervously, tucking that loose strand behind her ear.

"You are exquisite," Charlie said, making sure that she saw the honesty in his eyes when he said so. "Don't _ever_ hide the real you from me again. You are beautiful, Tonks."

"Oh, Charlie…" Tonks whispered as another wave of tears hit her. "You always did know the right words to say to a girl."

"More like the right words to the _right girl,"_ Charlie said, winking mischievously. Tonks laughed, rolling her eyes at his attempt on flirting. Checking the time, she sighed when she noticed that it was getting really late.

"I should go. I need to report back to my superior tomorrow. His name is Mad-Eye Moody. You probably knew him, _and_ his tendencies to eat newbies. He'd kill me if I was late."

"Yeah, okay." Charlie would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed. But he knew that he shouldn't be selfish. "Will you come and visit again though?"

Tonks smiled, nodding her head. "If you want me to, I'll come every day."

"That's awesome… And oh, Tonks?" Tonks was about to get off her seat when Charlie called her name one more time. "Can I uh, tell you something?"

"Sure," the Auror said, smiling. "What is it?"

Tonks was leaning toward him, looking so beautiful as she smiled that beautiful smile of hers. Charlie felt rather horrible when he did it, but just like he knew she was coming that night, he knew that _this_ was something he should do. So he tried to hold back the pain as he lifted his hand and took Tonks' chin, pulling her face closer toward him. He hesitated for awhile when Tonks' eyes widened, expecting her to pull back and slap him, probably hex him too. But when she didn't do anything other than stared into his eyes, Charlie dared himself to risk it all, craned his neck even though the movement gave him the mother of all headaches, and sealed his and Tonks' lips in a soft kiss. The moment their lips met, Charlie was sure that whatever suspicion he had about him and Tonks being more than just friends, was confirmed. If they were only friends, he wouldn't have felt what he felt. He moved his hand to cup the side of her face, caressing the soft skin of her cheek as he kissed her some more. When they finally pulled apart, and Charlie was met with the sight of a beaming Tonks smiling brightly at him, Charlie swore right then and there that he would do _everything_ in his power to keep that smile on her face.

"Can I tell you something?" Charlie whispered, his breathing a little laboured as he glanced Tonks' lips that were _right there,_ less than an inch away from his.

"What?" Tonks whispered, just as breathless as he was.

Leaning to the side of her face so he could trail kisses on her delicate jaw-line, it was Charlie's turn to smile the megawatt-smile. Planting a soft peck on her cheek before nipping on her ear gently, he whispered, "I could lose my memories of you a billion times, but this just proves that I can _never_ stop having feelings for you."

* * *

 _"Malfoy! I…I have something to tell you but please, let me tell you everything before you decide on killing me or not."_

 _"What have you done, Longbottom? Answer me!"_

 _"I- I thought she was with Harry and Ron. I swear, Malfoy, I_ never _would leave her alone, even if you hadn't told me so. But…"_

 _"It's better not what I'm thinking of, Longbottom, or I swear to Salazar's soul, I'm going to hurt you."_

 _"I'm sorry, Malfoy, but… Hermione, she – "_

They were too late.

And to think that he just discussed the ultimate ways to keep her out of danger with Potter…

Longbottom never got to finish his words when Draco planted a solid punch in the boy's face. Usually, Draco refrained himself from lunging at someone and punching someone in the face like a bloody Muggle. Malfoys were more dignified, he was taught since birth. But the moment he caught to what Longbottom was saying, Draco just lost it. He could be just as stupid as Longbottom was, and he could very well understand what the idiot was saying. Draco considered the fool lucky that Theo and Blaise were there to stop him from completely plummeting Longbottom to the ground. He was only half-aware of the confused looks his friends were sharing, but he cared not at that moment. He merely pushed Longbottom out of the way before running to the direction of the Hospital Wing. Both Potter and Weasley had beat him to it, and was already waiting by her side. He knew that Potter and Weasley probably had no problem with him being there. But the rest of Gryffindor, who came just moments after him, would start talking about it. It didn't help that most of Gryffindor's Quidditch team saw him that when when he called her _that_ word. The Weasley twins would probably hex him on the spot if they saw him. So, in the end, Draco had no choice but to turn back, telling himself that he would come to visit when night came.

And he did just that.

When he got back to the dungeon, he ignored Blaise and Theo bombarding him with their stares. They didn't ask him about it though, which he was thankful about. He skipped dinner, excusing himself to his friends, saying something about him feeling a little ill. He knew both Blaise and Theo didn't believe him, but again, he didn't care. He quickly made his way to the Hospital Wing, hoping that no one was there. He was about to get in when he saw Potter and Weasley exited the room in a hurry, looking thoroughly determined about something. He was rather curious but the moment he laid his eyes on her, all other thoughts flew out of his mind. His heart felt like it stopped breathing as he slowly got closer toward the bed where she was. She was still wearing her Hogwarts uniform, and the look in her eyes told him just how terrified she must be when she saw the monster. Draco's leg trembled so bad that he thought he was going to collaps. It was with tremendous effort when he pulled a chair beside her bed so he could sit. His grey eyes found her brown ones almost immediately as he reached out for her hand tentatively, and he jerked slightly when he felt how cold her skin was. But he didn't pull back. Instead, he used his other hand to claps around hers, as if by doing so he could warm her cold hand.

 _("What would you know about Quidditch? You filthy little Mudblood.")_

"I'm sorry," Draco whispered. "Granger, I am _so_ sorry… I know you'd probably say no because you're such a bloody saint, but it's all _entirely_ my fault. If I hadn't lost my temper that day, I'd probably be able to do a better job on keeping an eye on you. I mean, I wouldn't need Potter or Weasley, let alone _Longbottom,_ to make sure you're safe."

Draco knew he was being stupid when he hoped she would answer him. Heck, if she wanted to slap him, he'd bloody well offer her his face. He'd take anything.

"I like you, you know," he continued, sighing heavily when he received no respond. "Since that day you bumped into me. It was why I acted so horrible at first. Being a Pureblood, I couldn't talk to you so freely, so I foolishly convinced myself that teasing you would just have to do the job. Then Weasle was being stupid, and I got worried that the troll would get you. Of course, being the briliant arse that I was, I chose to argue with you instead of taking you to safety like I planned to do."

He remembered the look on Snape's face when he failed to tell the Potion Master about the real reason why he was there. Draco swore there was something akin to _pity_ in those emotionless black eyes of his teacher.

"After that troll accident, I actually made a promise to myself that I would stay away from you. But I overheard you and your idiot friends talking about the Stone, and I knew that Potter would probably take you to do something stupid. I mean, we all know that even though he was rather decent and was raised by Aurors, Potter could be a bit dim at times. So yeah, I came to Potter and told him everything I knew, hoping that he would take me on whatever stupid adventure he planned on doing. To be honest, if you weren't there, I wouldn't have cared." He saw a loose strand of her hair had fallen to her face, and using one hand, Draco reached over to tuck it behind her ear. His hand stayed there, however, and before he realised it, he had started to stroke her hair gently.

"You'd probably laugh at me, but I did get a bit jealous when you decided to stay with Ginger Boy after he fainted. But bloody Potty was there, so I took on the job to make sure he didn't get killed. You owe me one, Granger. I mean, it's _your_ job, isn't it, to keep Potter alive?" He let out a soft chuckle at his own joke, but sobered up as he remembered what happened next. "You were the last thing on my mind when I set the ceiling to collaps on top of me and the troll, you know. I heard you calling out my name before everything went dark. I was actually afraid of dying, but when I thought that you were in danger of dying as well, I knew I had to do something. Besides, if it meant I managed to keep you alive, dying didn't seem so bad."

 _(She never knew it but he heard it when she cried for him.)_

 _(And the sound broke his heart more than he thought it would.)_

"I don't know if Potter told you about it or not, but during the summer, I made a promise to Potter that I'd _never_ be mean to you. It was during the party in honour of Regulus Black. I broke that promise, and naturally, Potter hated my guts again because of it. We just made up again a few days ago, and we were planning on a way to stop this once and for all when you…"

Draco choked on his own words, unable to finish his sentence. The previous night, he dreamed of her _dying_ , and it scared him witless, he spent the rest of the night wide awake. Seeing her now, motionless and cold, hit a bit too close to the dream.

"Granger," he whispered as he leaned closer toward her, so close that his lips were less than an inch from her ear. "I promise this will the _last_ time you're hurt. I promise that from today on, I'll try my best to keep you safe. Malfoys aren't known for being brave, nor for being the most honest. But we are honorable people, and we keep our promises."

He had no idea what made him to do it, but before he could think through it, Draco had moved his head a bit and planted a kiss on her soft cheek. It was a very swift kiss, but it was there. Pulling back, Draco debated on leaving or not. In the end, he decided that he could stay a little longer – which was _exactly_ what he did. He said nothing else for the rest of the night, merely sitting in his chair as he held her hand in one hand while his other hand kept stroking her thick brown curls. He didn't really realise it but he ended up falling asleep, his head lying just beside her, their hands still clasped. When he woke up the next day, he was thankful that no one was around as he slipped out of the Hospital Wing, feeling a little embarrassed though he'd _never_ regret it.

 _(He was unaware that the entire time he was there, a certain Longbottom was there too because the Gryffindor wanted to have sometime with his bookworm friend to apologise, only to find that the blonde Slytherin was already there first. He never told anyone about what he heard that night, not even years later when they were all grown-up.)_

 _(Though he did tell his parents once, who he swore looked like they understood what he said.)_


	19. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 8

**NOTES:** Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. College just started and I got a bit too busy. I probably won't be updating as I usually did, but I promise I won't take too long. Anyway, I've been thinking of writing a collection of snippets on scenes that I only mentioned here. What do you think about it? Should I do it or not? Tell me about it, okay. And here goes the next chapter!

* * *

He was _dying._

Harry was so sure of that.

He gritted his teeth upon feeling the unbearable pain that came from the wound the Basilisk inflicted using its fang. Having a huge tooth stuck into your arm was horrible. But when it was poisonous and belonged to the most dangerous monster _ever_ to exist? Well, Harry wouldn't recommend it to anyone. He tilted his head up and found Riddle leering over him, going more solid as seconds passed. Harry's strength was receeding, and he bet he would be losing his consciousness soon. But looking at Ginny, and picturing the look on Ron's face, and everyone from the Weasley clan, Harry decided that he would give one last fight. If he was to die, he'd damn well take Riddle with him. He vaguely heard Riddle spitting out insults at him, taunting him, but Harry ignored it all. Reaching for the diary with his uninjured hand, Harry then grabbed the tooth that he just plucked out of his hand, and stabbed the book with it. Riddle yelled in indignation and pain as blank ink started the burst out from the hole on the diary, and Harry stabbed the book one more time when Riddle tried to lunge forward and stop him. The last stab Harry aimed onto the book caused Riddle to burst into flames, and almost instantly, Ginny Weasley woke up. Her greyish parlour was replaced, and her then-pale cheeks reddened healthily.

"Harry," Ginny started to sob. "I am _so_ sorry. I…I tried to tell you, that day during breakfast, before we found that that Hermione was attacked. But Percy was there, and I- I got scared. It was _me,_ Harry; I did all of that. B-but I was _swear,_ I didn't mean to! Riddle…Riddle made me to do – _Harry, you're hurt! You're bleeding!"_

"It's nothing," Harry muttered, feeling like he was about to collaps any minute. "Ginny, you have to go through the tunnel. You'll find Ron there, with Lockhart. Then go to Dumbledore and tell him everything, okay?"

"But, what about you? Because I am not leaving you," Ginny said, and for a moment, Harry was reminded of Ron's stubborn loyalty too.

"I'll be fine," Harry whispered. He was so tired, and probably would have fainted right then and there, if Fawkes hadn't flew back and landed beside him. Giving the bird a sad smile, Harry patted its beak and told the bird that he was thankful for its help. Waiting for darkness to come, Harry absentmindedly watched Fawkes leaned closer onto the wound on his arm, and saw how the bird dropped a few tears onto the bleeding wound.

"Harry, looked!" Ginny exclaimed, pointing at his arm. But Harry didn't need to look at it to know what Fawkes just did.

"Of course," Harry said, grinning slightly as he lifted his _healed_ arm, inspecting it closely. "Phoenix tears have healing powers. Thank you, Fawkes."

The phoenix tilted his head to the side before bowing slightly. It flew a few inches off the ground but didn't fly too far off, as if it was waiting for Harry. Lifting himself off the cold tiles, Harry stood and gave Ginny his hand. The younger Gryffindor was suddenly very shy again when she took his hand. Together, they walked hand-in-hand back to where Ron was waiting with Lockhart. He immediately dropped Ginny's hand though, once they saw Ron who had managed to make a pathway for them. He would have blushed when Lockhart teased him about Ginny, asking whether she was his girlfriend. But important matters were at hand, which was how they were supposed to get out. It was until Fawkes began wagging his tail toward him that he realised how phoenixes were also able to carry tremenduous weight. So, Harry told Ron about it, and the next thing he knew, the four of them were flying back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. As he walked passed the ghost, he was suddenly reminded of how he knew about the bathroom. It was that day when Malfoy called Hermione that name, and his best friend hid for the whole afternoon there because no one else would come into a bathroom where an annoying ghost resided. The thought brought Hermione and Malfoy into mind, and Harry promised himself to go check on the both of them. Before he and Ron went off to save Ginny, he was actually going to go see Hermione again, just to say goodbye before he went on another daring mission. But he was stopped short when he saw Malfoy leaning on Hermione's bed, fast asleep. It was obvious that the young Slytherin cared about Hermione more than he was willing to let on.

Harry was heading to the Hospital Wing alone, after he'd gone to Dumbledore to explain everything. A small scowl was on his face as he replayed the event that happened after he and Dumbledore talked about what happened down in the Chamber of Secrets. Mid-conversation, Lucius Malfoy had barged into Dumbledore's office with Dobby tailing after him. The former Slytherin informed, as he was practically the Sacreds' eyes and ears at the Ministry, that Sirius had helped cleared out all charges on Hagrid about him being accused for opening the Chamber, both fifty years ago and recently. The blonde looked positively livid that he had to deliver Sirius' message like a common House Elf that he made the mistake to taunt Harry for his heroics in saving Ginny. Harry was completely ignoring the man's words, having used to the younger Malfoy's teasing as well, when he caught Dobby subtly gesturing to him that it was _Lucius_ who slipped Tom Riddle's diary onto Ginny's cauldron when she went shopping for books. Harry was angry and absolutely disgusted by the revelation. Sure, sometimes Malfoy irked Harry to no end, and there was still a part of Harry that still couldn't forgive him for calling Hermione that awful word. But what Lucius did was a whole other leve of evil. That was what made him came to the decision to annoy the man by freeing Dobby when they were all excused from Dumbledore's office. The realisation that came to Lucius' face when he finally digested what Harry was doing was soon replaced, and he looked positively. Harry was ready to brace himself against whatever spell Lucius would throw at him, when Dobby, doing his first magic as a free Elf, saved him. The Gryffindor didn't think that he ever saw a House Elf as happy as Dobby was when the little creature gave him a smile after saving him.

" _Oof!"_ Harry huffed when he collided into someone. He would have fallen onto his bum if a hand hadn't pulled him by the robe to stop him.

" _Watch where you're going, you idiot!"_ Draco Malfoy yelled, causing Harry to flinch because the Slytherin was right next to him.

"You don't need to yell, git. I heard you just fine," Harry spat, rolling his eyes as he pulled his robe from Malfoy's hand. The blonde git looked like he was going to yell at Harry again when something caught his eyes. Whatever he saw made him to think twice about yelling at Harry, and the green-eyed boy cocked an eye brow when the look in Malfoy's eyes softened.

"You look awful, Potter. Like, you're practically drenched in blood," the other boy said. He looked hesitant for a split second to continue. "Are you…are you okay?"

Grinning mischievously, Harry replied, "Aw, Malfoy, are you saying that you _care_ about me?"

Almost instantly, Malfoy scowled and it got Harry laughing when the Slytherin said, "Next time I saw you hurt, Potter, I'm just going to stand there and watch you bleed yourself to death."

"Don't be so grumpy, Malfoy," Harry chuckled. "Hey, why are you up so early? Where were you going? Or from."

Harry _totally_ wasn't expecting the blush that came onto Malfoy's pale face. It didn't take long for Harry to realise where exactly Malfoy was the previous night. A part of him wanted to tell Ron so bad because the two had a bet about whether Malfoy had feelings for their bookworm friend. But when he saw how Malfoy struggled to give him an answer, Harry decided to become a good person and kept the information to himself.

 _(And looking at Malfoy, he still found it surprising that he_ wasn't _as bad as his evil father was.)_

"I uh…I was called to Snape's office," Malfoy stuttered. "My m-mother wanted to talk to me."

Harry ignored the fact that the dungeon was on the other side of the castle and made a mental pat on his shoulder for not pointing it out to Malfoy.

"I see… Well, I'm heading to Hospital Wing. Dumbledore told me that Madam Pomfrey would be giving the Petrified ones the Mandrake Potion this morning. Hopefully, in a few hours, Hermione and the others would be awake already."

"Okay." When the young Malfoy moved as if he was going back to his dormitory, Harry rolled his eys in disbelief.

"Honestly, Malfoy; for someone as smart as you are, you can be a bit dim sometimes," Harry tutted, sighing dramatically in a way that would remind Sirius and Remus of all the times the late Lily Potter scolded them back in their hogwarts.

" _Excuse me?"_ Malfoy snapped, looking impatient. "Need I remind you that I scored _second_ rank while you only got _fourth?"_

"I was actually hinting at you to come with me to see Hermione. If you were really as smart as you claimed to be, you'd know it. I mean, aren't Malfoys supposed to be the master of subtlety?"

"Oh, sod off, you prick." The blonde aimed a wayward kick toward Harry, to which the Gryffindor dodged skillfully. "Come on then, Pothead. Let's go."

"Impatience and name calling won't make walk any faster, Malfoy," Harry said, rolling his eyes again as he walked side by side with his Slytherin friend ( _were they really?)_ to the Hospital Wing.

"I know that. But at least I can annoy you, and believe me when I say that annoying you is _always_ the highlight of my day," Malfoy said, smirking infuriatingly.

"Ha-ha-ha," Harry remarked dryly. "Aren't you _just_ the comedian?"

Harry tried not to look to surprised when Malfoy laughed. The blonde sobered up though, when they took the stairs to Hospital Wing, and looked seriously at Harry. "What happened to you, by the way? You looked like you just went to hell and back."

Harry didn't answer immediately, taking awhile to ponder whether it was wise to tell Malfoy about what just happened. In the end, he knew that if he really wanted to make sure the blonde the didn't take the same path his father did before him, Harry had to let Malfoy know about the horrible things people could do under Voldemort's bidding. So he told Malfoy everything he knew, starting from the fact that it was Lucius who gave Ginny the diary that posessed Ginny into opening the Chamber. He watched in fascination as the expressions on Malfoy's face changed rapidly the whole time Harry spoke. Harry flinched involuntarily upon seeing the look on the blonde's face when he finally stopped. Malfoy was always known to master his the art of masking his true feelings, as well as shutting down his compassion completely when he needed. But at that moment, there was a cold look in his eyes as his lips practically curled in distate, jaw clenching hard to control his anger. No matter how worrying the look he had on his face, it was slightly comforting for Harry. This was prove that Malfoy wasn't completely lost, and that there was hope to bring him onto the Light side.

 _(Especially with Hermione's help, Harry added before he could stop himself.)_

Both boys entered the Hospital Wing and saw that Ron was already there with his family, all of them surrounding the bed that Ginny occupied. The moment Harry entered the room, Molly Weasley burst into tears before heading toward Harry to hug him affectionately, oblivious to the fact that she had pushed her twin sons aside roughly to get to Harry. Behind the woman, her husband Arthur had come to thank Harry as well, both adults talking over each other to express their gratitude. Harry couldn't say anything, especially when the twins and Percy started to thank too. From the corner of his eyes, the green-eyed boy saw Malfoy quitely stalked to the bed in the corner of the room, where Hermione was. It was probably nearly half an hour later when Madam Pomfrey could finally push the Weasleys away from Harry so she could take a look on serious injuries Harry might have. But Fawkes had done a miraculous job, and except for minor bruises here and there, Harry was mostly unscathed. Still, Madam Pomfrey being who she was, she insisted that Harry spent the morning there, at least until the bruises disappeared. When Madam Pomfrey left, after warning everyone that they should leave before lunch so she and Professor Sprout could start on giving the Mandrake Potions to the Petrified ones, the twins insisted for Harry and Ron to tell them what happened. He almost sighed at the request because that would mean he had to repeat the same story he had told Dumbledore and Malfoy. Nevertheless, he obliged because that was the least he could do.

"And Malfoy?" Percy asked after Harry was done talking, catching everyone in the room off-guard. The third-oldest Weasley turned to the Slytherin sitting by Hermione's bedside with a slight hostile frown on his face. "What were you doing with _him_ , Harry?"

"Yeah," Fred said, nodding excessively as he glared at Malfoy. "Why would you take him here if you knew what his _father_ did?"

"I brought him along because – "

"I am _not_ my father," Malfoy said quietly but firmly, interrupting Harry mid-sentence. "No matter how bad you think I am, I would _never_ hurt someone innocent just because it'd save myself and my family. It's disgusting."

"Tell that to your deal old dad, kid," George said cruelly, looking nothing like the mischievous person Harry knew. "Maybe if _then_ he'd stop being such a git."

Both Harry and Malfoy were already about to answer George scathing remark, but Ron had beat them to it. He was silent the whole time since Harry came with Malfoy, opting to stay by his sister's side, talking in hush tone. It was a bit surprising for him to speak in Malfoy's defence.

"Oh, shut it, all of you," Ron snapped impatiently. "A few hours ago, Ginny almost _died._ And if Lucius Malfoy was indirectly the cause of it, it doesn't mean his son is just as bad as he is. Now, why don't we just focus on Ginny and bother Malfoy some other day?"

"Ron's right, boys," Arthur said, smiling proudly at his youngest son. "Today, it's all for Ginny."

Ron's brothers looked liked they were about to argue, and judging by the way look of dislike they aimed at Malfoy, it was probably true. But one look from Molly's infamous glare, the three older boys went quiet immediately. Harry saw Malfoy flashed Ron a grateful look, to which Ron replied with a small smile. Harry spent the next few minutes talk to the Weasleys before slowly slidding to Malfoy's side when the family was too busy minding their youngest. Taking a seat across the young Pureblood on the other side of Hermione's bed, Harry noticed that Malfoy's was intertwined with Hermione's. The two boys talked about mundane things like Quidditch until Madam Pomfrey shooed them and the Weasleys out of the Hospital Wing so she could start treating her Petrified patients.

Harry was the only one who saw Malfoy gave a gentle kiss on Hermione's hand before he left.

* * *

 _"_ Marlene, will you _please_ talk to me?"

"No. I am _never_ talking to you again until you promise that you'll stop playing hero."

"Well, I can't exactly promise something that I can't possibly control."

" _Sirius!_ Your _son_ is being ridiculous again!"

 _"Sirius!_ Your _fiancee_ is being ridiculous _too!"_

"Leave me out of this. I'm busy with Payne."

Marlene glared at the door to the nursery where her daughter was getting her bath from Sirius. In front of her, a hopeful looking Harry was looking at her with wide-eyes _("Merlin, Lily; when did your son get so tall?")._ Sighing tiredly, Marlene pinched the bridge of her nose as she took a seat on the couch in the gathering room, once again feeling a little annoyed at how Sirius just left Marlene to take matters to her own hands. The both of them were the only adults in the house. Regulus and Irina went to visit Irina's mother with Astrid, while Remus and Dorcas went to see a Muggle doctor. Ever since the werewolf agreed to have a baby, the couple had been expecting for the Pregnancy-Test Spell to give them the positive sign. They had been trying for six months and yet, Dorcas didn't seem like she would be carrying soon. None of Dorcas' Healer friends, who was specialised on pregnancy and fertility, managed to come up with an answer to their little predicament. Remus immediately came to the conclusion that it was _him_ that was wrong because of his lycanthropy, and it looked like the possibility that he could never have children broke him. The couple was slowly losing their hope when Irina suggested them to see a Muggle doctor. When Sirius heard about it, albeit meaning no disrespect to his sister-in-law, he quickly disagreed. He was supported whole-heartedly by Dorcas and even Regulus as well. It was actually Remus himself who chose to follow Irina's suggestion. Marlene found it ironic for someone who originally wanted no children, Remus seemed pretty adamant when he asked Irina whether the woman could set up an appointment with a doctor she knew.

"Marlene?" Harry said, kneeling in front of her. He took her hands in his, adopting the puppy-dog look he probably learned from Sirius. "I'm sorry for making you worried, _again._ But you have to understand, Ron's my best friend, and he needed me to save his sister. And there's also Hermione who was Petrified. I couldn't just turn my head and ignore them. They needed my help."

"And you _couldn't_ tell an adult about it? Why should it be you? There are _teachers_ at Hogwarts, Harry. And I know you're a brilliant kid, but those teachers are far more qualified than you are. Why does it have to be you?"

Harry clenched his jaw, a movement Marlene knew all too familiar because she'd seen that _many_ time in the past on James whenever he was frustrated after Lily had rejected him. Her maternal instincs instantly flared because she could sense that there was something bothering him that he hadn't told his family about. But Marlene tried not to push him about it. Even though he looked like the spitting image of his father, Harry was actually very much like Lily – and Marlene remembered how her best friend hated it when she was forced into telling something she wasn't ready to tell. So, Marlene waited, and waited until Harry swallowed heavily and decided to speak.

"After the Quidditch game, the one when I broke my arm, Malfoy agreed to tell me everything he knew about the Chamber. He told me that a girl had died fifty years ago when the Chamber was last opened, and Hagrid was accused of being the one who opened the Chamber. It turned out that Malfoy had tried to find everything he could about the Chamber, and seriously? The knowledge he had about it was something that was almost Hermione-ish. Like, the bloke probably read every book in the library!"

"Harry, focus," Marlene said, trying to fight a smirk from surfacing. For someone who had Lily Potter's genes in him, James' genes in him seemed to outweight Lily's love for books because Harry always talked about how annoying he found it for Hermione to read and read and read _all the time._

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Anyway, Malfoy also found out that the monster in Chamber was a Basilisk, which was later confirmed by Hermione when I told her everything Malfoy told me – _by the way, Malfoy had a crush on Hermione and I'll tell you more about it._ Both Malfoy and I also came to the realisation that Moaning Myrtle, the ghost in the girl's bathroom on the first floor, was the girl that was killed fifty years ago. So, the both of us went to talk to her to ask her about more details. When we got there, we found the bathroom was flooded, and Myrtle was crying because someone threw a book at her. The book was actually a diary, belonged to someone named Tom Riddle. I took the book with me and inspected it. I wrote my name on it, and the book actually replied. It was Tom who replied. I asked him about the Chamber, and he showed me what happened that night; how he saw Myrtle's body was taken by Aurors for further inspection, how he exposed Hagrid for being the one to open the Chamber. I showed Malfoy and Hermione the diary the next day, and they both warned me that the diary could be dangerous. I agreed with their suggestion and stopped talking to Riddle."

"Then? What happened?"

Harry looked grim before he continued. "It was a day before Gryffindor's match versus Ravenclaw when Hermione was attacked. The previous day, I just found that someone stole the diary. I was about to get to the pitch while telling Hermione about the diary being missing when Hermione suddenly excused herself to go the library. Then McGonagall stopped the match, telling me that Hermione was attacked. Ron and I were visiting her when we found a piece of paper gripped in palm. On it, she wrote 'pipes, Myrtle's bathroom'. I put two and two together and decided that perhaps, when Myrtle died in her bathroom, that was where the Basilisk first came, meaning that the entrance to the Chamber was there too. Then we heard that Ginny was taken into the Chamber, and that Lockhart, the bloody idiot, would be the one to save her. I knew Lockhart was a total joke, so that was why I decided that it had to be me and Ron. When I got there, Riddle had come out of the diary using Ginny's soul to have the strength to come back. And it turned out that Riddle was actually Voldemort before he changed his name. Long story short, I defeated Riddle, saved Ginny, came back to school and told Dumbledore everything."

"Why didn't you do it sooner, then? If you thought Lockhart was an idiot, why didn't you tell someone else _before_ you got to the Chamber? Dumbledore or McGonagall? Or even Snape?"

"Time was running out, Marlene. And Ron was getting antsy. So yeah, forgive me for being reckless and impulsive but I _had_ to do it."

Marlene would have yelled some more at her Godson, but Harry's words reminded her _so much_ of James. She let out another tired sigh and decided that she couldn't be mad at Harry forever because of his hero-complex that James inherited to him. Giving the boy a sad smile, she pulled his hand to her lips and gave it a kiss. "Fine, I'll forgive you for being a bloody hero. I'm not mad at you anymore, but you're grounded."

" _Marlene!"_ Harry whined, pouting immaturely at her. "You _can't_ ground me when I practically just saved the whole bloody world!"

"You didn't save the whole _bloody_ world," Marlene scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You only saved Ginny Weasley, four Muggle-born students, a cat and a ghost."

"Yes, but if Riddle succeeded that night, he would give another try on world domination, killing hundreds other innocents like he did the last time!"

"Alright, alright," Marlene relented. She reached out and ruffled Harry's hair, smiling fondly as she remembered the same disastrous mop of hair on James' head. "I won't be grounding you – "

"Yes!"

" – but if you pull another heroic stunt like this next year? Trust me when I say you'd wish you were grounded for the rest of your life instead."

Harry grinned, chuckling slightly as he gave Marlene a hug. "Thanks, Mar. I promise you won't even know if I pull another _heroic stunt."_

" _Harry James Potter!"_ Marlene yelled. But Harry had taken off, laughing his head off as he ran all the way to his room.

Marlene watched her Godson disappeared into his room in annoyance, though she couldn't stop herself from grinning a little. Shaking her head at Harry's antics, she made her way to her room. She sat on her bed as she waited for Sirius to come, and her mind wandered off over something she just found out in the morning. It was almost an hour later when Sirius came into the room, looking tired yet happy at the same time. When he got closer, Marlene noticed his shirt was soaked to bones, no doubt from the water Payne splashed at him when he gave the girl her bath. She laughed when she saw how he struggled to take off his shirt because of how it clung to his skin.

"Here, let me help," Marlene chuckled, walking toward her fiance to help him. Pulling the shirt over his head, she said, "Oh honey, I thought you've learned by now to put a spell to keep yourself from getting wet. You know how our girl loves her bath time."

"I was going to, Mar, believe me. But I made the mistake of putting her into the water before casting the spell, and the moment her feet touched the water, she began to splash water at me." He threw his wet shirt into the basket of dirty clothes for the Elves to take, and led his fiancee to their bed. Sirius gave a sneaky grin as he pulled Marlene onto his lap, noticing how the brunette was eyeing him closely. "You like what you see, love?"

Marlene rolled her eyes and slapped Sirius' arm lightly, even though she blushed as she remembered what she just discovered that morning. "You are unbelievable, Sirius."

"No need to be ashamed about it. We both know I _am_ gorgeous," Sirius said, winking. He leaned closer and gave her a kiss. "Merlin, how I love you so much, woman."

"I love you too," Marlene said between kisses. Slidding off Sirius' lap, the two settled on the bed, laying together with Marlene safely tucked in Sirius' arms. She hummed softly when she felt Sirius gave a kiss on her temple, and she snuggled even closer to him, burying her face against his chest.

"You won't believe what Regulus just told me," Sirius said, one hand was playing with Marlene's hair as he sighed at the feeling of his beloved's fingers tracing patterns on his bare chest.

"What did he say?" Marlene asked, not really listening. This was their nightly ritual, talking about mundane things to get their minds off things.

"You know that he's been getting really close with Cissy's son, right? Reggie keeps in touch with little Draco, always answering every letter the boy send to him. In the last letter he sent Reggie, the boy wrote that his newborn sister was actually a Metamorphmagus. He only told Reggie now because he was too busy helping our boy researching about the Chamber."

"Wow, a Metamorphmagus… Can you imagine the look on Andy's face if she ever finds out that her sister's little girl is also a Metamorphmagus?"

"Andy would be smirking triumphantly, I bet. Deep down, the woman's just as sneaky as I am."

Marlene muttered something in agreement. Speaking about Narcissa's second-born urged her to tell Sirius what she had been wanting to tell Sirius since the morning. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her face from Sirius' chest to look at him. "There's something I want to tell you, Sirius."

Almost instantly, Sirius looked alarmed. He tilted his head to his side in a mannerism that resembled his Animagus form strongly. He put a finger under Marlene's chin and pulled her face closer. "What is it, love? What do you want to tell me?"

Hesitating slightly, Marlene then pulled the hand that was tracing patterns on her arm and moved it toward her belly. For a moment, the both of them were silent, looking into each other's eyes. Marlene waited anxiously for Sirius to react, the minutes that passed felt like years to her.

"Mar, are you – " Sirius began before trailing off and letting out a shuddering breath.

Marlene nodded slowly and whispered, "Yes. Yes, I am."

"How long…?"

"Two months, not long after you returned from rescuing Charlie. You went away for a month with Regulus on an Order mission, before coming home relatively unscathed." When Sirius said nothing else again, Marlene grew restless. "Sirius, say something. _Please."_

As if there was a switch, a smile began to grow on Sirius' face, and before Marlene knew it, Sirius had practically pulled her on top of her before kissing her deeply. He was laughing happily when he pulled apart, his grey eyes twinkled as he leaned again to kiss Marlene. " _I'm having a baby again! Merlin, you can't believe just how_ happy _I am to hear that!"_

"You are?" Marlene said, a little surprised. "Even with the war going on?"

" _Especially_ with the war going on. I hope it's a boy this time, though if it's a girl again, I'll be completely okay with that. I'll spoil her rotten too."

Sirius laughed again and this time, Marlene laughed along with him. The rest of the night, they spent it in their room, showing each other how much they loved one another. It was probably the happiest she felt ever since Payne was born. The only thing that disturbed her happines was the thought that she'd be breaking the news to Remus and Dorcas sooner or later.

She only hoped that Irina's doctor would finally be the help Remus and Dorcas were looking for.


	20. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 9

**NOTES:** We're one chapter away from Harry's third year! Please tell me what you think of Harry's second year so far, and if you want to, you can list out the things you wish/guess will be year three. Hope you guys like it! :)

* * *

 _"We have to get him. Torture him until he breaks."_

 _"You can't break him. He'd rather die."_

 _"Shut up! You just go find our Lord. We'll take care of him."_

Ever since she was a child, Luna Lovegood had always been a brilliant artist. It was something she got from her mother. The quirky girl could anything she wanted to if she had the tools and a canvas. Back when her mother was alive, painting was something the two of them used to do together. Mother and child would draw things they found most interesting, and then they would discuss each other's drawing. After her mother's death, the girl would paint to spend time when her best friend Cedric wasn't around. It was the only thing that could stop her from doing something that she promised Cedric she wouldn't. Sometimes, she drew what interested her at the moment, like she used to do when her mother was alive. But lately, since her mother's death and she started to have those weird dreams that showed her things before it happened, she would draw what she remembered of the dream. That day, another she had another dream. Most of the time, the dream seemed insignificant. But this dream, it felt dangerous and threatening, and it really scared her, so badly that it woke her up. Luna didn't waste any time and immediately started to paint before she forgot the dream. Half an hour later, she was done with her painting, fingers covered in mostly dark colours. She stared at the drawing she did on the canvas she had in front of her. It was of a dark room, and there were four men wearing dark robes. The only light on the drawing came from the wand the shortest man was holding. The man was the only one who wasn't wearing a silver mask, unlike his companions. A shudder went through her spine as she realised that she knew this man's life was in danger.

"Luna, Cedric's here!" she heard her father called her from downstairs. "Do you still want to go to visit Charlie Weasley?"

"Yes! Tell him I'll be there in ten minutes!" Luna called back. She threw a last glance on the painting she just drew before putting it against the wall on the corner of the room with her other paintings. She went into the bathroom to get ready, and true to her words, ten minutes later, she was bounding down the steps to the living room.

"Hi, Luna," Cedric greeted her with a smile. The young Ravenclaw smiled in return, something she rarely did to other people.

 _(But Cedric_ wasn't _other people.)_

It would be a lie to say that Luna didn't harbour some kind of feelings toward her Hufflepuff friend. The older she got, the more she realised that whatever she felt for Cedric wasn't quite sisterly. In fact, if she was to be honest, the thought that Cedric saw her only as a sister broke her heart a bit. Yes, she was young, only twelve years of age. But she had always been more mature than most kids her age anyway. He was always so nice to her, something that she never knew why. Luna was a quiet child, but whenever with Cedric, the older boy always managed to make her laugh out loud. She always felt like the happiest girl in the world when Cedric was with her. It was only normal if she started to have feelings for him. The Prefect was _really_ good-looking after all, not to mention nice.

"Hi," Luna greeted in return, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear. She never cared about her appearance, except when she was with him. "We're going now, Cedric?"

"Yes. Let's say goodbye to your dad first." Taking her hand, Cedric took her to the kitchen, where Luna's father was bustling around searching for cups.

"Oh, I was just going to make us some tea," Xenophilius said when Cedric excused himself and Luna. The Hufflepuff smiled but shook his head politely.

"We really need to go now, Mr Lovegood. My father told me yesterday when he visited, the Weasleys got a lot of visitors. The sooner we go, the better it'll be."

"Very well then. Give them my best regards, will you?"

"You sure you don't want to come, Daddy?" Luna asked.

"I'm sure, dear," the man answered. "I've got something really important to do. But tell them that I'll probably visit some other time."

Luna promised her father that she would tell the Weasleys just that before giving the man a kiss goodbye. Heading toward the fireplace, Cedric and Luna took turns to Floo into St Mungo's. Once they got there, they headed to the room where Charlie Weasley was, having known from Cedric's father about which room it was. There were already visitors in the room, so as per rule dictated them to do, Luna waited patiently with Cedric. As they waited, her mind flew back to the painting of the men in dark robes. She had no idea who the fourth man was, the one who didn't wear a mask. She thought of telling Cedric about it, but in the end, she chose not to. For years, she had been hiding the fact that she saw the future in her dreams. Not even her father knew about this particular talent of hers. She knew that if anyone ever found out, they would even see her as a freak. Seers weren't very popular, even in the wizarding world. She could just imagine what people would do to her. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a voice coming from the room where Charlie Weasley resided, and suddenly, she felt an unbearable pain on her head. It felt really horrible, as if something was pounding on her head repeatedly. She let out a soft moan, leaning onto Cedric with her head between her hands. She could hear Cedric's panic voice vaguely, asking her what was wrong. She wanted to answer him, but images started to flash rapidly in her mind, and even with the pain, she tried to focus on them.

 _"There he is! We have to grab him now!"_

"Luna? Luna, can you hear me? Luna, what's wrong?"

 _"What are you waiting for you? Do it! NOW!"_

"It hurts, Cedric… It hurts…"

"Merlin – somebody, help! Please!"

 _"Stupefy!"_

Luna saw a bright light and a man dropped to his feet, due to the spell that attacked him. She tried to see who the man was, but the only thing she caught from him was a gold ring with a raven-shaped ruby on it, circling his right index finger. The pain in her head began to lessen, but the screaming she heard was making it worse. It took her awhile to realise that _she_ was the one who screamed. She opened her eyes and shot up into a sitting position, nearly colliding her head against Cedric's. Her heart was racing and she was hyperventilating. Someone was telling her to calm down, and she heard the voice told Cedric to give her a drink. Luna took it graciously because her throat felt dry. It felt like hours later when she finally managed to calm down. Passing the glass back to Cedric who was sitting beside her, Luna took the chance to look around the room. Behind Cedric, there was a kind-looking woman who wore a Healer robe, and a man whose smile was just as calming as the woman's. The Healer then asked Luna whether she needed anything.

"Quill," Luna whispered. "And some parchment, please."

The request caught the woman off guard, but she soon shrugged it off. "Remus, love, she needs some paper. Do you have…?"

"Here you go," the man said, and only then did Luna realise the man and woman were Remus and Dorcas Lupin. The moment the realisation came, a dull ache came to her head again, as if telling that her dream was connected to them.

"Cedric?" Luna said just before she started to draw.

"Yes, Princess?" the Hufflepuff said. When the older boy reached out his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, Luna tried hard to push her feelings toward the older boy so she could stay focus.

"Whatever you see after this, whatever I tell you, you may _not_ tell anyone about it. Promise?"

"What do you – "

" _Cedric."_

"Fine. I promise."

Luna nodded her head in satisfaction, but asked the same thing to Mr and Mrs Lupin, who promised her in return. Thanking them under her breath, Luna then set her mind on drawing the dream onto the parchment, eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration. Fifteen minutes later, her drawing was done. It wasn't as neat as the ones she usual did, but it still something much better than normal people would produce. She nervously showed the drawing to Cedric and the Lupins, who looked over the Hufflepuff's shoulder to get a proper look. On the piece of parchment, Luna drew a dark corridor that was eerily reminiscent to the corridor around her. Lying on the floor of the corridor in her drawing, there was a man that was shown only from his shoulders down. There was nothing recognisable from him, except for his right hand that had the raven-ring on it. The moment Remus Lupin saw the drawing, he froze. His yellow-green eyes that landed on Luna, so suddenly that it caused the girl to flinch.

"What is your name, dear?" Auror Lupin said. His tone was calm and soothing, but Luna was always very observant, and she could detect the panic and urgency in it.

"Luna Lovegood," the blonde answered softly, reaching for Cedric's hand because she suddenly felt nervous. Healer Lupin's breath hitched upon hearing her answer.

"Your mother was Pandora, right?" Healer Lupin asked, causing Luna to frown in confusion.

"Yeah… You know her?"

"She was a Ravenclaw in my year," the woman answered. She turned to her husband, who looked a little lost. "You know her, Remus. She was the only student in class who listened to Aegis Beauregard in Divination, and Avery with his friends would mock her about that."

If anything, the Auror looked even _more_ at lost. "Doe, I'll be honest with you here. The only reason I, or any of the Marauders, took Divination class was because _Lily_ took it. Naturally, James wanted to be close to her all the time, but he didn't want to be alone. So, all of us took the class too."

"Merlin, give me the strength," the petite woman sighed, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Fine, what about this; she did Prefect rounds with you in our sixth year eve Thursday and Monday, remember?"

"Oh, you mean Pan Fawley?" Auror Lupin said, recognition lit his face. "The one you were jealous of, which resulted in you giving me the silent-treatment for three months?"

"That's…that's not the point," the Healer said, blushing slightly especially when her husband smirked. Ignoring him, she turned back to Luna. "Anyway, my dear; I knew your mother. She was a wonderful friend. And if I recall properly, she _did_ tell me that she had Seer blood in her."

"I don't know about that," Luna admitted in a small voice. "Mum's family didn't like me or father very much. Even when Mum was alive, they wanted little to do with us."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Cedric said when Healer Lupin was about to say something. He had been so quiet that if it hadn't for his hand in hers, Luna would have forgotten he was still there. "I'm not getting much here, but…"

"Yes, Cedric. I can see the future," Luna said carefully when she noticed her friend was looking at her uncomfortably, swallowing heavily because she was worried Cedric would avoid her now that he knew everything.

But he _didn't._ He merely stared at her quietly as everything began to add up in his mind. "That's why your drawings are so realistic. You didn't imagine them. You _saw_ them, in your dreams."

"That's right."

"How long have you been having dreams like this?" the Auror asked, glancing at the paper that was still clutched in Cedric's hand.

"Since Mum died. It started out as hazy and a little unclea, like a fog was covering the whole scene. But the older I get, the clearer I can see things."

 _And the more I have these dreams,_ Luna added quietly.

Auror Lupin nodded his head before getting onto his feet. He looked at the door where Charlie Weasley was. With a hand on his chin, he then said, "You're visiting Charlie, right?"

"Yeah," Cedric answered for the both of them.

"Right… Is it okay if I take you two with me for dinner?"

" _What?"_ Healer Lupin nearly yelped, looking at her husband in confusion that must be mirrored on Luna's and Cedric's faces.

"Cedric, Luna?" the man asked, ignoring his wife. Slowly, Luna and her friend nodded. This was an Auror, so they had nothing to worry about.

Besides, Remus Lupin was _the_ Auror. The only person that could guarantee her safety even more was Sirius Black and Albus Dumbledore.

"But you have to tell our parents though," Cedric said.

"No worries. Dorcas will take care of that."

"Well, not until you tell me why we're taking these kids to dinner. So, you better start talking now, Remus," the Healer said, jabbing a finger onto her husband's chest.

"Because, Dorcas dear," Remus began, sighing heavily as he once more glanced at Luna's drawing. "I know whose ring in the drawing belongs to."

* * *

Hermione's parents were dentists. Really good ones. She could even proudly say that her parents were probably the best dentists in London. With her parents' success, steady income wasn't a problem for them. Back before she went to Hogwarts, Hermione's parents were easily one of the wealthiest. She was never arrogant about that little fact because her parents taught her that wealth wasn't everything. But it did make her a bit self-conscious, especially when she came to school wearing expensive clothes while her classmates wore something much cheaper. However, ever since she came to Hogwarts, she came to realise that were others who were _much_ wealthier than her family. It was confirmed many times whenever she saw the Pureblooded Slytherins flaunted it in everyone's faces how they practically owned the world. That night, as she and her parents came out of the elegant fireplace of the Black Manor to attend Harry's thirtienth birthday party, it was the first time she realised that her best friend _too_ came from old money. She eyed the high ceilling of the Manor, saw the numerous crystal chandeliers hanging above them, the granite floors also the staircase made of rare teak wood, the silver-wares and other expensive-looking ornaments and furnitures the family owned. In all her thirteen-nearly-fourteen years of living, Hermione had never been into a house such as the Black Manor. Hell, she'd never known anyone to be _that_ wealthy. Glancing briefly at her parents, who had identical dumbstruck looks on their faces, Hermione she wasn't the only who felt intimidated.

A House-Elf popped in front of them, and Hermione felt a little guilty when her mother looked like she was about to have a heart-attack at the sudden appearance of the creature. But the girl admired her parents' mask of nonchalance when they both followed the Elf to the ball room, where a huge round table was prepared already with various kinds of food. The Elf then told them that Harry and his family would come down shortly, once they were done with getting ready. It seemed that the lady of the house, Marlene McKinnon, who was pregnant for three months so far, was feeling a little ill, and in her annoyance, the woman _accidentally_ set her fiance's robes on fire. Another Elf then came and showed them their assigned seats. Both Elves gave the Grangers a bow before popping back to wherever they were needed in the huge Manor. It was only a minute later, just before the three Grangers got too awkward, when another family into the room.

"Mione!" she heard Ron called out her name. The girl breathed in relief when she saw Ron, with his family of redheads,

"Hi, Ron," she greeted, hugging her friend once he got to her. "How was your summer?"

"It was great!" the boy said, beaming. "Something real great happened! Dad won the Daily Prophet Galleon Draw the other day! We're planning to use to visit my brother Bill in Egypt."

"That's great, Ron! Congratulations, Mr Weasley," Hermione said, shaking the old man's hand, who beamed just as bright as his youngest son.

"Thank you," Arthur Weasley replied. "So you're Hermione Granger, huh? Ron told me you're the most brilliant person he's ever known."

"Dad," Ron muttered, his ears turning a violent shade of red. Unfortunately for him, even if his father was nice enough to stop talking, his twin brothers didn't.

"Wouldn't stop talking about you, actually," one of the twin – _was it Fred? George? –_ quipped with a sneaky grin.

"Reckon he's got a crush on you, Granger," the other twin added, slapping his palm to his twin's extended one before guffawing loudly.

"You – "

"This is my wife, Molly Weasley," Arthur quickly said, before Ron could say something rude to his brothers that would result in him getting smacked by his mother.

"Nice to meet you dear," Molly said, surprising Hermione when the woman hugged her instead of the usual shaking-hands.

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs Weasley," Hermione said, liking the woman already for her kindness. "These are my parents, Patrick and Helen Granger."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr Weasley," her father said, shaking hands with Arthur and Molly before stepping aside for his greet them

"You have a brilliant daughter," Arthur said, smiling. "These here are my monstrous bunch. I actually have seven of them. You know my youngest son, Ron." Arthur continued, pointing first at Ron. "And those two over there are the twins, Fred and George – "

" _Hullo, Mr and Mrs Granger!"_

" – that's my third son Percy. And this one here is my little Ginny."

"I'm _not_ so little anymore, Dad," Ginny said, rolling her eyes but managed a smile for Hermione. "Hey, Mione."

"Hey, Gin," Hermione said. Hermione was never really close with the Gryffindor girls in her year, and neither was Ginny with the girls in her own year. This resulted in the both of them becoming friends after Ron introduced her sister to Hermione and Harry.

"Wow, seven kids," Patrick Granger said, looking slightly amazed. "I can't manage this bossy princess over here."

"Thanks, Dad," Hermione huffed, mock-pouting. Her father chuckled as he patted her affectionately.

"You said seven," Helen said. "Where are the other two?"

"Bill, the oldest, is in Egypt. He's working as Curse-Breaker for Gringgots. And my second-born Charlie is coming a little late with his girlfriend. He just had an… _accident."_

 _"_ Oh, sorry to hear that," Hermione's mother said solemnly. "What happened to him?"

 _"What's a Gringotts?"_ Patrick whispered to his daughter, who promised that she'd tell him all about it later on.

"He – "

"Mum," Ron interrupted his mother, sending Hermione an apologetic look. "Hermione's parents are Muggles. Hermione's a Muggle-born."

Hermione understood immediately. They couldn't risk Hermione's parents to know what crazy stuff happening in the wizarding world, lest they would scare her.

" _You're Muggles?"_ Arthur excitedly asked, surprising Hermione's parents, enough to distract them for their curiosity about Charlie's accident.

"We are," Patric said, looking a little scared now that Arthur was eyeing him like a kid would look at a Santa Claus. "My wife and I are dentists."

"That's _amazing!_ What is that?"

"They're like specialised Healers who fix people's teeth," a voice said before Hermione's parents could answer Arthur. As if on cue, all of the Grangers and Weasleys turned around, finding a beautiful woman with bubblegum-pink hair and stunning teal eyes who pushing a redheaded on a wheel-chair. The man was very good-looking, with a bad-boy vibe on him, which was confirmed by the numerous tattoos all peeking from behind the collar and sleeves of his shirt. Hermione had to say, the both of them made a perfect couple.

"Hullo, Tonks!" Ginny said, waving at the woman who winked at the young girl.

"I'm Nymphadora Tonks," she said to Hermione's parents. "But I prefer Tonks, though. And this is my boyfriend Charlie Weasley."

"Hello," Charlie greeted politely. "I'd stand to greet you properly, but I'm afraid I'm rather unable to at the moment."

"Oh, it's okay," Helen said. "What happened to you, by the way?"

Hermione didn't know about her parents, but she noticed the subtle tick in Charlie's jaw before he smoothly lied, "I fell off a dragon, ma'am. Broke a lot my bones. I'm a dragonologist, see. I work with dragons in Romania."

"Dragons _are_ real?" Patrick asked, looking exceptionally awed. Charlie gave a smile and Hermione understood even more how someone like Tonks, who was the best Auror in her year according to Daily Prophets, would risk her life to go on a rescue mission for the man.

"It is real, sir. I can send you pictures one day, if you want…"

Charlie trailed off, and each one of the Weasleys tensed visibly as they looked at the direction of the door. When Hermione turned around, she felt her breath caught in her throat when she saw the Malfoys walking into the room, with Neville and his grandmother behind them. Except for the baby in Lady Malfoy's arms, all of the Malfoys had unreadable masks on their faces. However, Hermione saw _Draco_ winked at her. The younger bookworm bowed her head immediately to make sure no one saw the blush on her face. When she was finally released from her Petrified state, the first person she saw when she got out of Hospital Wing was him. The Slytherin was leaning against the wall, absenmindedly drumming his wand against his thigh. At first, he didn't realise she already got out, standing beside him. But when she called him, he whipped around violently, looking utterly shocked. The look was soon replaced, and the boy was looking at her nervously. For over a minute, the both of them were quiet, trading glances at each other. It was Draco who broke the silence first, speaking so fast about how he was sorry for _everything,_ and that he was _so glad_ he was alright. He even admitted that it hurt him when she teased him about bribing the whole Slytherin Quidditch with new brooms, because all he wanted was to show her that he could be just as good as Potter was. After ten minutes and he kept on talking, Hermione began to tune out on whatever he said, but no because he bored. No, it was actually quite the opposite. What he said made her hurt to flutter in that cliché way she often read in books. When she asked why did he care so much, his answer practically made her swoon.

 _"Because, no matter how hard I try to deny it, I care about you, Granger."_

"Sorry for the long wait," Sirius Black said as he entered the room with his family and the birthday boy himself. Behind the Auror were the Lupins and his brother Regulus with his wife and daughter.

"Yeah, Sirius over here took ages to get ready," Marlene joked, to which Sirius returned with a mock-glare before leaning down kiss his fiancee.

"I'm going to let you win for now, only because it's Harry's birthday… Now, Prongslett my dear; come here to Dadfoot – _and where is that cake?_ "

Harry sighed dramatically as he stepped into view, right behind the Snitch-shaped cake that appeared out of thin air ( _"I'm still not used with all this magic," Hermione's mother muttered under her breath.)_. There was a grin on his face though, and Hermione swore he got a little teary-eyed when everyone began to wish him a happy birthday. When he blew his candles, everyone made a small laughe at the surprised-look on his face when Sirius and Marlene leaned to kiss him on his cheeks. Marlene then had one of the Elves to cut the cake for the guests. Hermione thought she had never tasted something as brilliant as the cake she was having.

"This is so delicious, Miss McKinnon," Hermione said, and the beautiful witch smiled widely.

"Really? Well, I'll have to thank Irina then. She did almost all of the baking, even though the Elves insisted they could help."

"I'll have to ask for the recipe then, Mrs Black," Molly said to the witch sitting beside the younger Black brother. Her statement was agreed by Neville's grandmother.

"Please, just call me Irina," the woman said, blushing slightly. On her left, her husband was smiling proudly with the attention his wife was getting.

"What about you, Cissy?" Sirius suddenly asked with a smirk on his face. It took Hermione awhile to realise that the man was talking to Draco's mother.

"Auror Black and Lady Malfoy are cousins," Ron explained, who was sitting on her right.

"Oh?" was all Hermione managed, her eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"In case Reggie never told you, Sirius, I've actually had the chance to taste dear Irina's cookings when I came to visit here while you were away on your mission," Narcissa Malfoy said, calmly looking back at her cousin, her face as impassive as always.

"Reggie never told me that," Sirius said, now glaring at his brother. Hermione nearly laughed when she saw how the younger Black flinched. It seemed, even in their thirties, Regulus still sort-of feared his older brother.

"Oh, stop terrorising your brother, Sirius," Narcissa said in a bored tone. "You're thirty-three, not thirteen. Hardly a child anymore."

"Thank you for pointing that out, Narcissa," Marlene said, earning an accusatory glare from Sirius. Narcissa herself merely grinned but said nothing else.

The rest of the dinner went well. The Weasleys were getting along just fine with the Blacks and Lupins, even though one could notice the slight awkwardness Regulus had when one of the Weasleys asked him a question. Even the Malfoys looked like they were giving an effort to be nice. From where she was sitting, talking to Ron, Hermione noticed that Draco and Harry were talking, both formal-enemies were grinning widely as they threw insults at each other once in a while. Sometimes, Harry would ask Neville, who was sitting not too far from him, a question and the other boy would reply. Hermione found it very nice of Harry and his family to give Neville presents as well when Marlene told one of the many Elves to put away Harry's presents. It was only then that Hermione realised Neville's birthday was only a day before Harry's. Promising herself that she would send Neville something, who blushed when he received four presents from Harry and his family _(Hermione weirdly noticed that Regulus gave the boy the biggest present),_ Hermione gave Neville her belated birthday wishes. After the main course was served, the Elves clicked their fingers and dessert was served. Hermione thought she was going to explode from how full she was. It seemed like she wasn't the only one who thought so because when his Godparents weren't looking, Harry sneaked to get to the little girls sitting their baby-seats, and quietly fed the two girls his ice-cream. Laughing under her breath, Hermione told Ron what she saw, and the two laughed together at their friend's sneakiness.

When the dinner was over, Sirius asked the older men to come with him to his study to talk aobut something important. Meanwhile, Marlene asked the women to join her to the parlour to have some chat, and they all left together, the ones with little kids holding their babies gracefully despite their fancy dresses. Before leaving, Marlene told the rest of the guests to go to the library or the backyard garden. The Weasley twins immediately went to the garden, and Percy followed them with a sigh, knowing that he had to keep an eye on his younger brothers lest they would destroy something. Tonks quietly asked Charlie whether he wanted to stay or go home, to which the dragonologist said that he'd like stay for a little while. She gave the man a kiss to the forehead before pushing his wheel-chair toward the library, leaving the younger kids still in the ball room. Harry pouted slightly, and Hermione knew that he was rather annoyed the library and the garden were occupied. Sighing in mock-defeat, he told everyone that it would be best for them to go the playroom, since the babies were with their mothers anyway, _and_ also because the playroom still had Harry's toys in there. Once they got there, Hermione was once again amazed at the sheer size of the room, noticing that even the toys looked really expensive. It was obvious that the room used to belong to Harry, judging from how Harry's Quidditch figurines still littering among the girls' toys. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the bookshelf in the back the room, and saw that it had _hundreds_ of children's story books, both Muggle and wizard stories. She heard Harry chuckled upon seeing her reaction, and he told her that she could borrow whatever books she wanted to read. Grinning widely, she practically ran toward the bookshelf after she thanked Harry, not realising that there was a certain _someone_ following behind her.

"Of _course,_ the bookshelf would be the first thing you notice, Granger," a voice drawled behind her, sounding amused. Turning around, the girl found Draco standing there with a smirk.

"People call me a bookworm for a reason, _Draco_ ," Hermione replied, grinning a little at the surprised look on the blonde's face.

"You…called me Draco," the Slytherin stated rather dumbly. It made Hermione laughed.

"Yes, I did. I thought, since you and Harry seem to be getting along just fine, it's just normal for me to start calling you by your first name."

"Potter and I call each other by our surnames."

"That's because you two are childish."

Draco pouted and it got Hermione laughing again. "I am _not_ childish. And you better not expecting me to call you anything but Granger."

This time, it was Hermione's turn to pout. "Why won't you call me by my name? Are you speech-impaired? Do you find my name too difficult to pronounce?"

"I have no problem with saying your name. I just don't want to."

Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance, knowing how stubborn the boy could be. She turned her back to him and began to ignore him, choosing to browse for books she never read. She was aware though, that Draco was still standing where he was, seemingly like he was struggling to say something to her. In the end, he let out a heavy sigh and relented.

"Fine, _Hermione,"_ Draco said, scowling even though Hermione could still see the small grin he was trying hard to hide. "You win. But I _warn_ you though, when there are others, especially my fellow Slytherins, I'll call you Granger in front of them."

"Whatever. I still win," Hermione said, sticking her tongue out at Draco immaturely. "Now, help me find something to read. I _know_ you're a bookworm yourself, Draco."


	21. SECOND YEAR: Chapter 10

**NOTES:** We're finally at the end of Harry's second year. This chapter is rather short and only in one part because I didn't like how the story went when I wrote it with the usual two-parts. Tell me what you think of the story so far, okay? Happy reading, guys! :)

* * *

 _("You will never leave me, right? Promise me you'll never leave me, Sirius.")_

 _("Of course, I'll never leave you alone, kid. We're brothers, and brothers stick together. Forever.")_

When Sirius first left him, he was eleven and Regulus was nine. It was the first time the younger Black was left completely alone with his demented parents. They went absolutely ballistic when they heard their oldest was sorted into Gryffindor, and they threatened Regulus that they'd disown him if he followed his brother's step. Regulus remembered being closing his eyes tightly when their father beat Sirius up when the boy came home for Christmas. It still haunted Regulus' every night, and sometimes, he _swore_ he could hear Sirius screaming and yelling for their father to _please_ _stop hurting him because it hurt so so bad, Father._ That was the last time Sirius came home for Christmas, and Regulus' dislike toward his brother started from that moment on. When Regulus finally went to Hogwarts, he felt Sirius' eyes on him as he made his way to the Slytherin table after he was Sorted, feeling both guilty and contempt when he stared right back at his brother. It became everyone's topic of discussion for the whole year, and at that point, the brothers had stopped talking to each other completely. Sirius rarely spent his time at home, even during the summer, and Regulus would resent him more about that. He would be honest and admit that he _was_ rather jealous of James Potter because he felt like he was being replaced. But it was until Sirius ran away from home that Regulus finally decided that he would take the complete opposite road his brother took.

The first Irina made him do when they moved in with Sirius was to patch things up between them. It wasn't an easy work. They were Blacks, and they were known for their pride and ego. For the first five days, Sirius and Regulus avoided each other like the plague. It took calm and gentle Remus to snap at the both of them until they finally talked to each other - which actually meant Remus locking the brothers in Sirius' study to talk things out, _after_ taking their wands lest the both of them would start shooting hexes at each other. Sirius was actually the first one to break the silent, explaining to Regulus how he knew that Regulus was angry at him for leaving the younger Black behind. He asked for Regulus to forgive for breaking the promise they made all those years ago, back when Sirius was seven and Regulus was five. The older Black's confession snapped something Regulus', and like a flood-rush, everything came rushing out from his mouth. He told Sirius about how scared he'd always been in the house, with their abusive parents, expecting them to come into his room with a cane to beat him for whatever mistakes he did; told his brother that when he agreed to join Voldemort, he was sort of expecting Sirius to come and _stop_ him from doing something that stupid. The more Regulus talked, the louder his voice got that he ended up yelling at Sirius. The whole, his brother, who was always known for being loud and obnoxious, patiently listened to him with a straight face, the only sign of emotions he had was when Regulus reached the part of him nearly dying in that cave by the beach. When Regulus finally stopped talking, it was silent for almost five minutes, with Sirius looking at him impassively and Regulus staring at his brother daringly, a little breathless from his rant. Then Sirius got up from his seat and slowly made his way toward Regulus.

 _And the Auror hugged his little brother, with fresh tears pouring down his face._

"I'm sorry," Sirius had whispered, and Regulus was struck speechless when he felt Sirius' tears fell onto his shoulders. "I am _so_ sorry, my brother. I know it had been hard for you, I know that you hadn't been living an easy life. I know and I'm sorry."

"You left," Regulus said, his voice breaking as his own tears started to fall. "You left me with _them,_ Sirius. You left when you promised me that you would _never_ leave."

"I know. I know, Reg. I _know_ ," Sirius repeated again and again. "Oh, _Merlin,_ I'm sorry. Will you forgive me, Reggie? Please?"

"You're my brother. Of course, I forgive you."

Sirius let out a wet chuckle and hugged Regulus tighter, repeatedly whispering, "I got my brother back. I got my little brother back. _My Regulus…_ "

It was probably the most heart-breaking moment of his life, and yet the happiest too. For over a decade, all Regulus had ever wanted was to have another chance to fix his relationship with his brother. He was thankful that some higher power was still kind enough to give him that chance. When the two brothers finally got out of the study, they found their family standing awkwardly in front of the door, grinning sheepishly at them. Regulus merely grinned, and it was soon changed into a soft chuckle as he watched his brother mock-glaring at his fiancee and Godson, who immaturely stuck their tongues at him. That was his family. He no longer lived alone. True, he knew that if he had to live with only Irina and Astrid, he wouldn't mind it. But now that he had a taste of what it felt to have a big and loud family, filled with people who truly cared and loved him, Regulus couldn't imagine his life without them. He couldn't imagine living without having Sirius yelling at him every morning to wake up, couldn't imagine a life where Marlene wasn't scolding him for forgetting his table-manners when he felt too hungry. He was getting used to picking up all of Remus' books that he left all over the house, as well as spending his evening helping Dorcas making Potions to store up in their private Potions' cabinet, and practising Quidditch at the Manor's vast garden with Harry.

"Regulus, your Owl has been knocking at my window for the past forty-five minutes!" he heard Marlene yelled at him when he was Charming his daughter's dolls to start dancing own their own, causing him to lose his focus which. Sighing, he got out of his daughter's room and headed to the living room, where his soon-to-be sister-in-law was waiting with his Owl on her shoulder.

 _(Honestly, Sirius? When will you finally make an honest woman out of your girl? Bloody hell.)_

"No need to yell, Mar," Regulus said, beckoning for the Owl to come to him. "If you were so bloody disturbed by it, you could always take the letter and give it to me, instead of letting the poor bird flying forever waiting for you respond to him."

"I was busy feeding Payne. I couldn't get my hands dirty."

Regulus rolled his eyes, telling the bird to go wait in his room once he had taken the letter. "You know what? I finally know where Harry got his tendencies to give ridiculous excuses."

" _Excuse me?"_ Marlene exclaimed, voice pitched. The younger Black chuckled but said nothing else. He merely waved at the older woman before getting into his room, already half-unscrolling the letter in his hands.

It was from Draco.

 _Dear Regulus,_

 _Thank you for the (belated) birthday present. You were over a month late, but it's okay, I guess. At least you remembered, and even gave me a present! Mother told me that it's one of the many Black heirlooms the family owned, so thank you very much. I could only imagine the trouble you went through to get the dagger. I promise I'd look after the dagger. Besides, how many thirteen year-olds do you know that own a thousand year old dagger? A dagger that can be traced back to Merlin himself. It's really amazing._

 _How are you, by the way? How are Miss Irina? And Astrid? She must be about a year and half by now, right? According to the books I read, babies should be able to talk when they're around her age. Mother told me that I was a year and two months old when I said my first word, which was 'Dada'. Don't tell anyone but Mother swore she saw Father cried. To be honest, I can't imagine that happening. Like, can you picture my father crying? That's just impossible._

 _Anyway, I overheard Father talking to Mother that there'd be another Sacred sometime soon (don't tell them about it!). Do you think it'll be alright if I come along? There's something I want to talk about to Potter._

 _Once again, thanks for the present!_

Regulus after he was done reading the letter, feeling a bit proud of himself for what he'd done for the boy. He understood perfectly what the boy must be feeling, and he knew that the boy needed someone to talk to. Besides, ever since the boy saved Harry, his brother told him to keep an eye on the young Slytherin, just to make sure he didn't make the same mistakes Regulus did. It wasn't easy at first, to make Draco to trust him so he'd talk to him. But in the end, the boy was so lonely and desperately needed someone to listen to him without fear of judging him. For the whole year, Regulust kept in contact with his cousin's boy, finding himself liking the kid even more. He was the first and only person Draco told about his little crush for Hermione. If Regulus was to be honest, he had a feeling that the crush was actually something a lot stronger. You didn't risk your life for your crush if it was just as simple as that. It made Regulus' fondness for the boy grew, seeing so much of himself in Draco. He reached for his quil and wasted no time to write his respond for the boy. A few minutes later, he was done writing the letter and had sent it back to Draco. He was taking off his prosthetic-leg so he could relax when he heard a knock on his door.

"Regulus?" Marlene said as she came into the room, holding Payne in her arms.

"Yes, Mar?" he replied, turning in his seat from behind his desk. The older woman looked around the room, seemed a little nervous.

"Where's Irina? And Astrid?"

"Dorcas took them to shopping."

"I see." A beat, and then, "Are you busy? Can I talk to you about something?"

In all the months he the woman, they never talked privately. There was always Sirius around, or anyone else in the house. It rather surprised him when she asked that question. Nevertheless, he shrugged it off and nodded, pointing at the bed so she could lay her daughter there. Marlene looked a little hesitant, but in the end, she sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, carefully setting her daughter down beside her. Regulus reached for his crutch before he wobbled toward the bed, taking a seat on the bed with Payne between them.

"Does it hurt still?" Marlene asked, nodding politely to his leg.

"Not really. It hurt only when I've word the leg for far too long, and have moved too much on it. The metal edges dig into my skin, you see," Regulus explained. He watched Marlene absentmindedly playing with Payne's little toes before he continued. "What's wrong, Mar? Do you need anything?"

Marlene took her sweet time to answer, and Regulus waited patiently for her. "You know about Dorcas and Remus, right?"

"Yes. I was there when Irina suggested him to see the doctor. Why?"

"Do you…do you remember that Order mission after Sirius rescued Charlie? The one you went along? You two were gone for a month with no news. Irina was really, _really_ worried."

"I do. I remember it. But, Mar…" Regulus frowned a bit when he saw the frustrated look on the woman's face. "Really, just tell me what's wrong. You're worrying me and I'm now really tempted on telling Sirius about it."

"He knows about it. He's just as confused as I am." Marlene sighed heavily, and she looked tired when she finally told Regulus what was on her mind. "I'm pregnant, Reg."

The younger Black took a minute to get over the shock until he could make a respond. "You're pregnant, and you don't know how to tell your friends about it."

"Yes, and my pregnancy is growing and sooner or later, they'll find out about it."

"Well, you're right about that, Marley."

Both Regulus and Marlene froze when they heard Dorcas' voice coming from behind the door. It swung opened a second later, revealing Dorcas standing there with a sad smile on her face. Even from where he was sitting, he could see that petite Healer had tears running down her face. Dorcas stepped forward, and waved awkwardly toward the door. "It wasn't completely closed, and Irina told me to come and get you, Reg."

"Dorcase, I'm – "

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Mar. It's not like you intentionally got pregnant to rub it on my face. I mean, we all know how Sirius can't keep it in his pants. It's actually a wonder you managed to go ten years without popping _fifteen_ kids, with the rate you're going."

"Oh, Dorcas," Marlene whispered, coming to her best friend to hug the other woman. "I _really_ am sorry. I really wish this was happening to you. I know just how much you want to have a baby. Please, don't hate me."

"Why would I hate you?" Dorcas said, still with that sad smile that made Regulus looked away. "I'd be a lousy best friend if I hated you for something you had no control of. I'm not going to lie that I feel rather upset about it, but I _don't_ hate you because of it."

The two woman hugged again, crying the whole time while Regulus awkwardly pretended he wasn't there to listen on them. Wisely, he decided to make sure Payne was still asleep to keep himself for hearing what Marlene and Dorcas were talking about. He was gently running his hand through Payne's short curls when he felt something burned his chest. He thought his heart had stopped beating as he remembered Remus' words that day a week before Harry's birthday. With trembling fingers, Regulus reached for the raven-ring hanging by the gold-chain around his neck, and a whimper escaped him when he saw the ring glowed bright red. It was the Black insignia-ring. When the late Orion Black found out his wife Walburga was carrying another son, he decided that he would make _two_ insignias, just in case when his first son died and the ring was lost in his person, his other son would still have it. The reason why Orion made two rings was because according to Old Rules, all Black heirs should have the ring with them if they wanted to take over their predecessor's position as Head of the Sacred Twenty Eight. Then Sirius had the rings Charmed that day when Regulus returned from his supposed-death, so whenever one of them was in danger, the ring would tell the other about it. The whole time Regulus stayed with Sirius, the ring had glowed red once; that time when Sirius was on his mission to rescue Charlie.

And even then, the ring didn't glow _this_ bright.

"Mar, where is Sirius?" he asked, interrupting the woman's conversation with her best friend.

"He's at the Ministry, late-night duty. Why? What is – _oh no…"_ Marlene whispered, her eyes catching the glowing ring in Regulus' hand.

"They're coming for him," Regulus said as he quickly Summoned for his leg and managed put it on in record time. "Doe, is Remus home?"

"He's in our room. I'll go get him," the Healer said, making a mad dash to her shared room with her husband. By the time Remus came, Regulus was already dressed, ready for battle.

"He's at his office right?" Regulus asked Marlene as he and Remus practically ran to the fireplace.

"He should be," Remus was the one to answer it. "But knowing our luck, he's probably someplace else doing unecessary patrolling."

"That bloody idiot," Regulus muttered under his breath. He stepped aside and let Remus to use go first, restlessly tapping his wand on the metal of his prosthetic-leg. He waited until the werewolf had gone for him to finally get onto the fireplace.

"Regulus, bring him back home to me," Marlene said before Regulus Flooed away.

"I will. I promise I'll bring him back."

The fireplace flared in green flames that took Regulus away to the Ministry. From the Main Atrium, he could hear already the sounds of loud yelling and bright green lights against red lights that told him his brother already had some company. Remus wasn't waiting for him and had gone first toward the source of the sound, yelling for his best friend's name the whole time. Regulus took off right after him, praying to that Muggle-deity his wife worshipped so much that his brother was all right. Sirius was on the second floor, where the Auror Headquarters were. By the time Regulus and Remus got there, the older Black was fighting against ten Death Eaters, all at once – _and more seemed to be coming._ Remus immediately took care of the newcomers, fighting the seven wizards before they could attack Sirius. Regulus knew that Remus would cover for him as he made his way to his brother, so he quickly fought toward Sirius, throwing hexes here and there whenever other Death Eaters tried to attack him or his brother. Just when he was getting closer to Sirius, a spell hit him right on the chest, sending him flying a few feet away from his brother. Regulus didn't take long to shrug off the pain, and was already trying to get back to Sirius.

He wasn't quick enough though.

A Stunning spell was aimed toward Sirius, and Regulus yelled to warn him. The older Black side-stepped the spell, only to get hit with another spell, this time it was an unknown spell in purple light. Regulus was barely registering what spell had got his brother, or whether there was _another_ hex coming his way. All he had in mind was that he _had_ to get to his brother because he couldn't afford losing him again. Not again. But Sirius was hit again, this time bright yellow jet of light hit him right on the left side of his chest, where his heart was. Regulus watched as if it was in slow-motion when his brother dropped to the ground, his wand rolled from his left hand. His eyes widened in horrification when he saw one Death Eater grabbed for Sirius' hand.

" _NO!"_ Regulus yelled, conjuring a powerful hex and sent it on that Death Eater. But the hex arrived a second too late and he had disappeared, taking Sirius with him.

And once again, Regulus was left alone.

 _("You promise? Say 'I promise', Sirius.")_

 _("I promise, little brother. I will_ never _leave you.")_


	22. THIRD YEARD: Chapter 1

**NOTES:** Wow, two chapters in a day! It's been a _long_ time since the last time I managed to post two chapters in a day... I hope you like this chapter and, as always, tell me what do you think about it! :D

* * *

Sirius was barely conscious as he vaguely registered himself being thrown roughly into a room. He heard a loud crack and realised a second too late that when his head hit the floor roughly, he also cracked his skull. Blinding pain shot through him, and he gritted his teeth to stop himself from making a sound. Then he felt hands roughly stripping him bare before shackling him face-first to the wall, exposing his back to the Death Eaters behind him. Sirius knew instantly what was coming, but it didn't mean the pain was any lesser when the heavy blows of a whip landed on his back. He lost count when he got to fifty-seven, and by then, Sirius was sure his back was torn into a bloody mess. The whole time, he tried his best not to make sound that would show how in pain he was, bitting his lip until he could feel the copper taste of blood. He had no idea for how long he was whipped raw, coming in and out of consciousness when he was suddenly released from his bonds. He dropped ungraciously onto the floor that wet with his blood, and braced himself for another beating when he saw three men coming to him. Two of them held him together as the last one began to pound on his face repeatedly, the grip on his arms were painful Sirius was almost sure they broke them.

"Tell us where he is," a Death Eater said once between punches. "Tell us where Charlie Weasley is."

"You must be so naïve to think I'd give up the information so easily," Sirius chuckled, cringing a little when his busted lip hurt like hell. As another punch landed on his face, he was glad that Tonks had decided to move in with Charlie in one of the Black cottages in Scotland.

"Sooner or later you'll break. Just wait and see, Black," another Death Eater said.

"I'd like to see you try. Really."

Death Eaters were mostly consisted of Purebloods, and like most Purebloods, they preferred to do everything with the help of magic. But they were a sadistic bunch, and when they wanted to torture someone, that was the only time the chose to do it the Muggle-way. It gave them a sense of satisfaction to see their victim bleed literally because of their hands. By the time the Death Eater was done reconstructing his face, Sirius thought it was a miracle he was still conscious, albeit barely. He was then released, and he had only a second to catch his breath, which he used it to listen on the newcomers that had come to join the fun. Sirius felt hands pinned him down onto the floor, spreading his limbs apart so he wouldn't be abe to use their full extent to struggle free – not that he would be able to, seeing the state he was in. His bleeding back rubbed painfully against the cold floor, and through his swollen eyes, he saw someone was straddling him. He was about to make a cheeky comment that would probably grant him another beating, when he felt a knife was carving out shapes down the skin of his torso. For the first time since he got there, Sirius let out a yell as the knife dug deep into his chest, and was dragged to make out shapes. The pain was unbearable and Sirius thought he was going to _d i e._ The knife finally stopped moving and Sirius wheezed out a shuddering breath when someone kicked him hard on the ribs, breaking them. He was too busy trying to keep the pain from completely killing him that he did not realise someone had entered the room. Someone he _knew_ from a past long time ago.

"Well, well…" the voice said, sounding different and yet familiar at the same time. "If it isn't the _great_ Sirius Black, beaten down like the _dog_ he is."

" _Pettigrew,"_ Sirius rasped, his whole being, even though he was in pain, was burning in absolute hatred toward his former _friend._

"Hello, Sirius," the man greeted casually, as if his betrayal to James and Lily never happened. "Long time no see, yes? How's everyone? How's Remus?"

Because of his swelling eyes, Sirius was practically blind. But his Auror training had made sure that his hearing, with the help of his Animagus form, would never fail him. So the Auror turned his head slightly to the direction of Pettigrew's voice and said, "If you touch _my_ family, I swear to God, Pettigrew, I'm going to _hurt_ you."

"And how are you going to do that, old friend?" Pettigrew giggled like a little girl. "You're bleeding yourself to death right now as we speak. Pretty sure if anyone's going to anyone, it'll be _me_."

Sirius was snarling, his anger was keeping him awake despite his injuries as he spat blood onto what he hoped was Pettigrew's feet. "How did you get out, you filthy traitor?"

"Usually, the captive doesn't get to ask questions, you know. But I guess I'll answer you." Sirius heard a soft rustling and he knew Pettigrew was sitting in front of him. "You know what, Padfoot? I do have to credit you for this. I mean, you _were_ the one who taught me how to be an Animagus, right? It wasn't James, we all know that. Bloody fool was a brilliant wizard, we'll give him that. But he was never as sneaky as you are. It was _you,_ wasn't it? And because of it, I managed to escape. So I suppose, I'll have to thank you now."

"You turned into an Animagus to trick the Dementors," Sirius said slowly, and he was brought back into memories of a day when he, James and Pettigrew were studying to become an Animagus.

 _"So you're saying that if there was a Dementor and I couldn't produce the Patronus Charm, I could always get away by changing into my Animagus form," Pettigrew had asked that day. The three of them were only twelve, and Remus wasn't around because he 'sick'._

 _"Yep," Sirius answered, popping the p as he lazily traced the raven of his Black insignia. "If you weren't happy enough to conjure a Patronus, becoming an animal could get you away. Dementors detect people by sensing their soul, and animals don't have them."_

 _"That won't be a problem for you, Sirius," James had quipped with a grin. "Blacks are souless people. Dementors won't even spare a glace at you." And the three boys had laughed, unaware that just ten years later, their friendship would break._

"Clever, isn't it?" Wormtail whispered, the glee was apparent in his voice. "For centuries the Azkaban had held a few of the most dangerous villains in Europe, and I was the _first_ one to figure out that by becoming an Animagus, I could get away."

"Why did you wait twelve years then? I'm sure that you figured that out quite early on."

"Ah, another good question that's too goos to pass on… You see, Sirius, my cell was placed right beside Barty Crouch's son. You know the boy. He was best friends with your brother. But do you know the crazy thing about it?"

"Please enlight me," Sirius said, unable to stop the sarcasm.

"Barty Jr wasn't him at all. It was his mother. I saw him, I mean _her,_ transfigured back into her true form one night when everyone was asleep. It took a little coaxing, but she finally admitted the truth to me. She told me that she traded places with Barty Jr, and the real Barty was with his father, placed under a very powerful Imperius Curse. So I thought if I could come and get the kid to join me in getting the Dark Lord back to power, the Dark Lord would praise me."

"And you need the kid because he's much smarter than you. Well done, Pettigrew."

Something in Pettigrew snapped and before Sirius could see it coming, the traitor's foot came in contact with his face, breaking his nose.

"I _AM_ SMART! I'M WAY SMARTER THAN YOU EVER GAVE ME CREDIT FOR, _PADFOOT!"_ This time, he stepped on Sirius' hand, breaking it with a sickening crack. "YOU AND JAMES, RUNNING AROUND LIKE THE COCKY PRICKS YOU WERE, ACTING AS IF THE WHOLE WORLD BELONGED TO YOU TWO. _I MATTER TOO!_ I AM _NOT_ JUST A CHARITY CASE THAT YOU COULD TOSS AWAY ONCE YOU FOUND SOMEONE MORE INTERESTING."

 _Crack!_ He broke Sirius' leg.

"AND INSTEAD, YOU CHOOSE THAT _FILTHY_ WEREWOLF OVER ME! THAT BLOODY HALF-BREED! YOU TWO SHRUGGED ME ASIDE ONCE YOU FOUND SOMEONE AS SMART AS YOU TWO. AND I _HATE_ YOU FOR IT, FOR HOW _BADLY_ YOU TREATED ME."

 _Crack!_ He broke Sirius' ankle.

Sirius flinched slightly when Pettigrew gripped his wand-hand, holding his fingers dangerously tight. He felt the traitor leaned on him, his hot breath smelled bad enough it made Sirius wanted to hurl. It seemed that Azkaban had ruined Pettigrew more than Sirius originally thought was possible, and it showed when the other man whispered to his ears, his other hand gently caressing Sirius' hair. "But it's okay, Sirius. It's all in the past. I've completely let go of that, really. Now, I just have to find the Dark Lord so he'd _kill_ everyone you love. And I will be watching with a big smile on my face as I force you to watch beside me when your precious Marley and that Potter boy are murdered."

"Don't you dare – "

 _CRACK!_ He broke Sirius' fingers.

Pettigrew cackled madly as he resumed to kick Sirius' battered body. When he was finally done, he said, "I'll be gone now, old friend. I have a mission to complete. And if I happen to run into Remus or even Harry, I'll tell them you said hello. In the mean time, have fun with the others!"

The last thing Sirius heard was the door slamming shurt before he felt his body exploded in pain.

* * *

 _Pink._ It was pink.

That was the colour that glowed on the tips of Dorcas' wand when she cast the Pregnancy-Test spell on herself. She had used the spell many times before to know that this time, the result was positive. She was pregnant. If Dorcas counted correctly, it happened sometime before Sirius was taken away, probably only a month old. The thought made her sad. When she first realised she could be pregnant, a part of cheered because that would mean her child and Marlene's would be best friends like they were. But then she remembered that Marlene had to face the pregnancy alone without knowing whether her fiance was alive or not. Dorcas remembered that night grimly, when Regulus and Remus came back through the fireplace with identical broken looks on their faces. Marlene heard the roar of the fireplace and immediately ran out from her room, a hopefull look on her face. But the look was replaced with something off full-blown terror as she searched around the room and Sirius was nowhere to be found. Then her eyes had landed on Regulus, who was unable to look at the woman as tears fell down his face, soft sobs escaped him. The loud wail that came from Marlene was gut-wrenching, and Dorcas didn't even realise she was crying as well when she saw her best friend lunged onto Regulus, her fists pounded his chest as her broken-sobs filled the room.

"YOU PROMISED ME, REGULUS! YOU PROMISED ME YOU'D BRING BACK SIRIUS!" Marlene had cried, punching every inch of Regulus' chest before she collapsed in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Mar," Regulus chocked, hugging the woman tightly because she wasn't the only one who had lost someone.

Regulust too, lost his brother.

It was the most horrible night in Dorcas' life, even worse than the night James and Lily died.

It had been only two weeks since they lost Sirius, and everyone was still very depressed. The once lively Manor was depressingly quiet now. When Harry first found out that his Godfather was taken by Death Eaters, the boy had run away. It took them a few hours to find where he was, and that was until Remus received a letter from Ron Weasley, saying that Harry was there with a dead-look in his eyes. Dorcas had no idea what happened when Remus went there to get him, but whatever her husband said failed to bring back the mischievous smile on the boy's face. Harry spent most of his time with Payne ever since then, and Dorcas overheard one day that he promised the little baby that he would always take care of her and her mother, whether Sirius was found or not. Marlene herself wasn't coping very well. She had locked herself in her room after her outburst, refusing to talk to anyone. Dorcas had to bribe Marlene's personal Elf, not that the kind-hearted creature needed to, to make sure that her best friend was eating and wasn't doing anything stupid like killing herself. The only time Marlene would come out of her room was to come and visit Payne in her nursery, where she would then spend hours worldlessly hugging her daughter to herself as she caressed her still-flat belly, with Harry quietly sitting beside her. But if anyone was taking it the worst, it would be Regulus. The moment Marlene left his arms to lock herself in her room, Regulus went straight to the cellar and drunk himself to oblivion. If he wasn't drinking himself numb, which was most of the time, he too would follow Marlene's example and spent his time with his daughter. Many times his wife Irina would come to Dorcas expressing her worries.

"What are you doing, Doe?" Remus called her name as he entered their room. Looking up from her wand as she cleared her thoughts, Dorcas found her husband looking like he'd aged about a century since the night Sirius was taken away.

"I have something to tell you," she said after awhile, patting the spot beside her. Remus cocked his head to his side and complied.

"What is it? Are you okay?" the werewolf said, taking her hands in his bigger ones. Dorcas let a small sigh and leaned against his chest.

"I don't how you'd take this, but… Remus, I'm pregnant," she blurted out, nervously watching Remus' reactions with baited breath.

She watched in fascination as emotions flittered across her husband's face. Remus was a fairly calm person who rarely let his emotions got the best of him. That was why he got along so well with James and Sirius, because he was like the buffer between the two pigheaded men. So Dorcas was always amazed whenever Remus let his guard down. She saw how confusion first showed on his face, before it was replaced with shock. Then slowly, it changed into happines as he registered that the one thing they had wanted for the whole year had finally come. But then, sadness took over as he probably realised the irony that just when he and his wife weren't thinking about a baby, that was when they got pregnant. Remus sighed heavily, pulling Dorcas closer until she was sitting on his lap before he burried his face on the crook of her neck, breathing deeply.

"Do you believe in God, Dorcas? Because, after all this time, I still sort of do. And I have a feeling that _this_ is his way of punishing me for all the times I blamed him about my lycanthropy."

"Remus – "

"I never show it much, but I'm actually _very_ angry. I am an angry person under all that calm and quiet persona. I've always been angry because of unfair life is to me. My mother was taken away when I still needed her, I lost my best friends time and time again. So I cursed God a lot of times."

"Love, stop it – "

"I wanted to have kids too, you know? That's why after a long time, I agreed with you. But it comes with a cost. I finally get to have a child, but my very _last_ friend was taken from me. A life for a life."

"Stop it right there, Remus John Lupin," the Healer said firmly, taking her husband's face in her hands and forced him to look at her. "This is _not_ because of you. You didn't ask to become a werewolf, nor did you make your mother died. You certainly wasn't the reason James and Lily were dead too. So, _stop_ blaming yourself for things that you cannot control."

"But Sirius – "

"Sirius would _agree_ with me. If he ever heard you saying this, he would punch you in the face and call you an idiot, which you are. Honestly, Remus, how can you possibly think you're responsibled for all the bad things in your life? You're a good person, my love, who bad things happen to. And even if I don't believe in God, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't punish a good man. Give you trials, yes. But punishment for a good person? I don't think so."

Remus had tears falling down his face profusely, his greenish-yellow eyes were shining as he tried to blink the tears away. The werewolf leaned down on her to kiss her softly. "I love you, Dorcas. I have always loved you. I can't imagine my life without you."

Dorcas sighed and felt a thousand years older when she pulled Remus to lay down on the bed with her, hugging him closely to her chest. She kissed his forehead softly and began to stroke his hair. "I want you to hear me very carefully, my dear; you are _not_ responsibled for whatever horrible things that happen to us or our family. If anyone ever told you otherwise, I'd personally hunt them down so I could literally knock some sense into their stupid heads."

"I could have stopped it though," Remus said in a small voice, lightly tracing patterns on Dorcas' arm. "I knew it _would_ happen as I listened to Luna Lovegood's explanation about her vision. I kept on debating whether I should tell Sirius or not, like what Regulus insisted me on doing. But I didn't tell him because I knew what my best friend would do. He would go after the Death Eaters all by himself. So I kept quiet, making sure that I was always around Sirius lest something happened. But then I got the _stupid_ flu and was forced to stay at home while my best friend went to finish the paperwork that Moody originally assigned to me."

"Hey, it's not your fault that Sirius was always trying to be a saint. We all know that there's _nothing_ Sirius wouldn't do for you, just like you would for him."

"But I _had_ a warning ahead of time, Doe," Remus insisted, his voice cracking a little with emotion. "I don't think it was only by sheer luck that we were there when young Luna had her vision of Sirius. If only I had told him, he wouldn't… Sirius wouldn't have… "

Remus' words were cut off as the dam finally broke. In all her life knowing the man, ever since they were both only eleven, Dorcas had only seen Remus cried _twice;_ the first one was on their wedding day, and the second time was when James and Lily died. As she hugged Remus tighter against her, Dorcas knew she was wrong. Regulus wasn't the only one who took it the hardest. Remus did too. Like the younger Black, Sirius was probably the last and only person that ever truly cared about him until Dorcas walked into his life. Sirius Black was the only person who understood what it felt to feel completely alone despite being surrounded by people, because no one knew the pain they truly felt. As tears began to rain down her face, Dorcas mourned with Remus. True, there was no telling where Sirius was, and he could be dying as minutes passed. But until the ring Regulus was holding had finally stopped glowing, they had to have faith. They had to believe that one day, they'd find Sirius.

They had to believe that one day, everything would be all right again.

"Cry, Remus," Dorcas whispered, kissing all her beloved's tears away, but never telling him to stop. "Just let it all out. Nothing's okay but you can always cry."

"No, I'm…" Remus chocked, looking at Dorcas like a lost boy when he finally calmed down a little. "I'm just tired, Doe. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of having bad things happening to me. I just…I just want to sleep."

"Then sleep. Sleep, my love, and I promise I'll be here when you wake up. I will _always_ be here."

So, he slept. And Dorcas followed soon.

After fourteen days, Remus and Dorcas Lupin finally slept soundly for the first time.

When they woke up, things were still horrible. Nothing had changed.

But at least, they had each other.


	23. THIRD YEAR: Chapter 2

**NOTES** : Hey guys! I'm back :) Sorry for the little delay. College is tough and me being me, I got in trouble already haha. Pray for me I didn't get kicked out okay lol. By the way, I don't remember whether I've talked about this before, but in this story, Sirius is taller than Remus because 1) I've always pictured Sirius as the tallest one in their troublesome gang and 2) because Ben Barnes (Sirius) is taller than Andrew Garfield (Remus). Anyway, enough with all that. Hopefully I didn't get in too much trouble for the... _trouble_ I got in so I could update soon. Let's just get on with the chapter, shall we ;)

* * *

Irina Black née Hooper was a very bright kid. She had only a few friends growing up because people, mostly girls, tended to get envious of her. Not only she was brilliant, Irina was also _very_ pretty. A lot of boys tried asking her out, but none of them ever attracted her attention. Her father was sick and her mother was getting old, so she thought that it would do no good to have romance as a distraction. Growing up as an only child, the fact that she had no friends sometimes made her life a little lonely. But she didn't think much about it. She had to support her family and that was more important than the fact that she nearly had no one but her parents. She was only sixteen when she was accepted into a medical school on scholarship. Satisfied that at least she didn't have to worry about her school-fess, Irina decided she could part-time as a nurse to help her parents. She had only been interning for a few months when she saw a group of campers brought a half-dead man into the hospital she worked in. The man was in a horrible condition. There were terrible scars all over his body that looked like claw-marks, and judging from his cold and clammy skin, Irina could only guess that he probably was suffering from hyporthemia as well. It was until they brought him closer that she saw his leg was nearly torn-off. Irina was the one who called in the doctors to help the man, and for some reason, when she heard that he would be alright, after a tiresome six hours of surgeries, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. They failed to save his leg though, and she couldn't help but to feel sorry for him. She wasn't sure but it was probably why she always volunteered to visit him for his daily check-ups, every time she came she always prayed that he'd wake up.

It was in the middle of the summer and he'd been there for six weeks. Irina was cutting his black-hair that had gotten a little too long as she talked mindlessly to him, ignoring the fact that he was unconscious. She read somewhere that patients who were comatosed would wake up sooner if they were being spoken to. For the whole six weeks she took care of him, Irina noticed a lot of stuffs about him. He was nearly pale-skinned, fairly tall and also rather lanky. But Irina knew it could be because he had been unconscious for weeks. She also noticed that even comatosed, the man was _really_ handsome. It was cliché and was probably a little dramatic, but he looked like a prince straight out of a children's book. It was probably true anyway. When he was brought to the hospital, though tattered, his clothes were very refined. Irina didn't know much about clothes and all that, but she could tell that he was wearing the softest kind of silk she had ever touched. He had no identifications on him. In fact, other than the clothes on his back, he got nothing on him except for a wooden stick in his pocket, and the golden-chain with the ring around his neck. The ring was made of gold too, and it had a ruby-made raven on it. It looked very regal, like something royals would wear. She knew that both items must be important to him so when the doctors didn't see it, she slipped the ring off his neck and the stick out of his pocket, and kept it for him before others noticed those items. The wand was stored in the drawer beside his bed, while the ring was back hanging around his neck. As Irina was cutting the last strands of hair, she took a glance at the ring that she had returned to him – and then was met with the pair of most enchanting silver eyes she'd ever seen.

After six weeks, the man finally woke up.

They didn't speak at first, and Irina realised that he probably had been awake for quite sometime. Blushing slightly, she then tried to break the tension by telling him what had happened. The whole time she spoke, the man listened closely to her, his beautiful eyes never leaving hers. When Irina finally stopped talking, faltering shyly as she realised that she had probably talked his ear off, that was when the man finally spoke. She nearly didn't hear him asking for her name because she was caught off guard by how beautiful his voice sounded. They were soft and a little husky, and she was a little embarrassed when she felt giddy like a stupid high school student. It took her awhile to answer him, smiling slightly when she saw him panicking because of her sudden silence. She then answered his question, thinking that the light blush that coloured his cheeks was adorable. Then it was her turn to ask him his name. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate, and Irina knew instantly that there was a reason why he had no identifications or the fact that he was found in the most secluded part of a beach that people rarely visited. The man was obviously hiding from something, only to end up getting hurt terribly. Irina was about to tell him that it was okay if he didn't want to tell her his name, when he finally made up his mind.

"It's Regulus," he had answered. "Regulus Arcturus Black."

Ever since then, Irina almost became a permanent nurse for him. Her supervisors just kind of gave up and no longer commented on her request to check up on him. Regulus seemed rather determined to get better, always ready to get his therapy done. He did look a little broken when he learned that he lost his leg, but he took it all in a stride, and calmly agreed to get himself a prosthetic-leg. He recovered fully rather quick, and Irina was proud of him. When it was time for him to leave, all of the staffs were rather worried whether he was going to be okay all by himself, seeing that no one ever came to visit him. But, surprising everyone who knew about him, Regulus assured everyone that he had some place to live and no one needed to worry about him. For Irina, the thing that surprised her the most was when Regulus sought her out to the staff's cafeteria, wobbling slight on his new leg. When she saw him, standing awkwardly by the door, she came to him and asked what was he doing. Instead of answering her, he slowly sank to his knees, nearly diving face-first onto the floor when he lost his balance. Irina felt her heart froze and she almost didn't realise the crowd that started to gather around her. All she could think of was Regulus, the man she was slowly falling in love with, on his knees as he was holding a box of the most beautiful ring she ever saw, asking her to marry him.

"Irina? Irina, what are you thinking about?" Dorcas said, waving a hand in front of her face. Irina blinked and cleared her mind, focusing her attention on the woman in front of her.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about Regulus," Irina answered. The older woman gave her a small and understanding smile, patting her should affectionately.

"I see. You must be a little nervous, aren't you? Your husband are going to be the Head Council after all in a few hours. He's going to lead the same people who have insulted you, albeit indirectly."

"Not really. I mean, I won't be dealing with them directly, right? I'll just…have to endure them tonight during the initiation."

Dorcas nodded, sighing heavily. But then her smiled brightened slightly. "Don't worry about them. Those stupid Purebloods won't do anything to you. We can always catch them off-guard though. And what better ways than to appear remarkably stunning tonight, as you walk in with Regulus' arms on you. Come on, we'll get you a really pretty dress."

It was a month since Sirius was taken away. With his absence, the rest of the Sacreds demanded for Regulus to take Sirius' place. Should Regulus choose to decline, Lucius Malfoy, as the second-in-line after Regulus, would step into the position as Head Council, and that would be the end of the Black family reign over the Sacred Twenty Eight that had been held for almost fourteen centuries by the family. Her husband knew that if Malfoy became Head Council, everything Sirius had worked for would be for nothing. There was also the fact that Malfoy himself was a Death Eater like Regulus too, even if the older wizard managed to convince the world that he was forced to do so under the influence of magic. So, even if he was reluctant, Regulus agreed to take his brother's position, under the condition that Remus was allowed to become his personal advisor. Almost all of the Sacreds protested about it, but in the end, they agreed when a Sacred named Kingsley Shacklebot reminded them that with Sirius gone, their direct link to the Auror department would only be through Remus. That night, it would be the initiation-night. Dorcas explained that basically, it would only be a night of fancy dinner like the one Sirius held back when Regulus first came back to his life. Only this time, Regulus was totally in-command of everything. The younger Black then asked Dorcas to please take his wife to prepare herself, and Dorcas kindly accepted. He would have asked Marlene but he didn't want to burden the other woman, who was still mourning for her missing fiance even though she'd returned back to work. She was lucky that she was her own boss and that the Minister answered to the Black brothers. Judging from how often she lost her focus during meetings, Marlene should have been fired since long ago.

When Regulus returned that night Sirius was taken, the man looked broken. Irina had learned from everyone around the Manor, even from those little creatures called House Elves, that even if they had a bad history between them, the brothers loved and cared for each other greatly. Regulus just got his brother back after fourteen years, and then suddenly, he was separated from Sirius again. It took a toll on him, and Irina worried greatly when Regulus spent days in the Manor's cellar, drinking himself numb. If he wasn't drinking, Regulus would spend his days in Astrid's nursery. Irina was on the brink of depression herself, stressing out over the fact that she couldn't help her husband, when one day, she heard Remus and Regulus had a huge fight in Sirius' study. It turned out Remus caught Regulus trying to leave home to track down the Death Eaters that had taken his brother by himself. When Remus called him out on that, calling him stupid for thinking of such a reckless idea, Regulus lashed out on the other man. Their yelling got louder and louder as minutes passed that even Marlene opened her door a little to listen on them.

"Why are you so selfish, you stubborn _git_!" Remus had yelled, his eyes dangerously flashing yellow, a sign that even if it wasn't the full moon yet, Regulus' idiocy was starting to irk the werewolf in him.

" _I'm_ selfish?" Regulus answered in a menacing growl. For a split second, his resemblance with his brother became uncanny it felt like seeing the older Black himself. "Lupin, that's _my_ brother they're holding captive. I think it's hardly selfish if I decide to come and save him."

"You have a _wife_ and a _child,_ Regulus. You have your family to look after, prick. So, think again if you want to become a selfish hero."

Regulus clenched his jaw and jabbed Remus in the chest with his forefinger. "Call me selfish one more time, and I swear to Merlin, I'm going to bash your bloody head in."

"I call it what I see it. _God,_ and here I thought your brother was troubling. You're worst."

Regulus lost it.

" _That's why I_ have _to save him!"_ Regulus yelled. _"_ I'm _not_ him, Lupin. I can't _be_ him. I'm a bad person, and the world needs Sirius, not me. They need a hero, an Auror with his brilliant credentials; _not_ a former Death Eater who just came back from the dead. And you're telling me that I'm being selfish because I want to bring back the hero the world needs? Fine, I _don't_ care. Call me whatever you want, but at least I _tried_ to get him back. What have _you_ done, Remus? You're too busy trying to knock up your wife. If you're the bloody great Auror everyone talks about, then why haven't you done anything?"

Irina thought the temperature had dropped a few degrees when Remus took a step closer toward Regulus, standing nose-to-nose as he glared coolly at the younger Black. " _Don't_ say that. Don't say things you don't know, you bastard. I have tried _everything_ to find my best friend before you could even think about it. I sent _twenty_ men to look for him, and I would have gone with them if I wasn't worried that Marlene _or_ you would do anything stupid that Dorcas and Irina couldn't prevent. He wasn't only my best friend, Regulus. He was my _brother_ too. So _stop_ thinking that you're the only who cares about Sirius, because I'd have died a thousand times for him since we were young, and I'd still do it again with no hesitation."

It was obvious from the look on his face that Regulus realised he was too harsh. Sighing heavily, the younger wizard, ran a hand through his hair before tiredly giving his hand out to Remus. "I'm sorry I lashed out. I- I didn't mean to say those thing, really. I just…" Regulus pinched the bridge of his nose before he continued. "You don't understand, Remus. All my life, it's always been about Sirius. And I don't envy him for that. I _don't_ like the attention, unlike my brother. So, even if it's been years later, I'm still not ready to step into his shoes and take on his duties. It's supposed to be him. _Always_."

"Have a little faith in yourself, Reg," Remus said, giving his best friend's brother a small smile as he clapped a hand on the shorter man's shoulder. "You did well when Sirius was away to rescue Charlie Weasley. I'm sure you could do it again this time."

That was how Regulus finally shrugged aside his depression, and agreed to take on the position as Head Council, and also as Head of the Black family. The initiation as Head of family was done just a few nights prior, with his cousins and their children being present, as the lasts living Blacks left. It wasn't really bad because it was more like a private ceremony. As Irina let the Beauty-Witches worked their magic on her and Dorcas while they waited for their dresses getting some last finishing touches, the nurse wondered just how far she'd come since that day she saw first met Regulus. After they got married, Regulust let Irina to continue her study to become a doctor, and even offered to pay for her clinic. But she knew that if Regulus paid for her clinic, he would have to give up his studio for her because they couldn't afford a studio _and_ a clinic. So Irina told him that she was alright with being a nurse, knowing that after everything he'd lost, she couldn't take his studio from him. But ever since they came to live with Sirius and his family, both Regulus and Irina had given up their work entirely. It just wasn't possible to keep their jobs that were very involved in the Muggle-world. Irina had it better because she had Marlene taking her to work with her, even if she truthfully preferred to work with Dorcas as fellow medical people. But Regulus had it harder. Other than going on missions for the Order of the Phoenix with Sirius or Remus or other members, he mostly stayed in the house with the kids. Irina was forever thankful that when they first moved in, Sirius immediately showed a room that Regulus could use as his studio. It turned out that even after years, the older Black still remembered his brother very well.

After they'd gone shopping, Irina returned to the Manor with Dorcas, holding the bags filled with their dresses and accessories, their make-up and hair were done perfectly. Once they'd changed into their dresses with the help of the Elves, careful not to ruin anything, Irina saw that they still had about an hour till guests would start to come. Dorcas then decided that she would ready the Elves on the preparations ( _something that she'd kindly taken over from Marlene_ ) while Irina decided that she would check on everyone else. She found Harry in the playroom with the girls, looking like he was twenty-three instead of thirteen as he watched the girls that he'd thought of his sister and cousin practising their crawling. She heard Marlene's soft sobbing in Sirius' study, followed by Remus' calming voice, and Irina knew instantly that the two best friends were probably having a moment in there. The last person she hadn't seen was her own husband, and she worried that he was probably hiding in the cellar again because of the stress. She breathed a huge sigh of relief when she found him in his studio when she was on her way to the cellar. Taking small steps toward Regulus, she saw that even if he was sitting in front of a canvas with a brush in his hand, the handsome man wasn't painting a thing. He merely sat there, staring blankly at the blank canvas in front of him, unaware that the black paint from the tips of his brush had dropped onto the floor. It was until she was already standing right behind that Irina noticed Regulus was holding his Black insignia, which was still glowing bright red. In away, it was a comfort to everyone to see that the ring was still glowing, meaning that Sirius was somewhere out there, still alive. But Irina could only imagine the horror the man was facing as days passed.

"My love?" Irina called, gently putting a hand on his shoulder. Without looking, Regulus took her hand into his, carelessly dropping his brush to do so.

"Sirius is the only person whose opinion matters to me," Regulus said in a small voice, his thumb absentmindedly caressing her knuckles. "So it scares me to think that _when_ he's finally back, he'd be disappointed in me if I screwed up too badly. What if he _hates_ me because of it?"

"Your brother loves you, Regulus. I've only known the man for a year but I can tell that there's little in this world that can cause him to hate you."

"But what if – "

"He still accepts you even though you joined the man who'd caused his best friend's death. He still defends you when people insulted you, no matter how true they actually were. I think it's prove enough that Sirius loves you very much."

Regulus let out a heavy sigh and turned around. He gave her a small smiled before pulling her for a kiss. "You are a miracle, Irina Black. I really couldn't imagine my life without you. I love you."

"I love you too, Regulus." She pulled back a little, but not before pressing a quick peck on his forehead. "Now, come on. You have to get ready. The guests are coming."

By the time it reached eight o'clock, all the guests had arrived for the dinner. The first to arrive, as per usual, were the Malfoys. The couple was silent as they took their positions in their assigned seats, quietly watching their son Draco brough his sister toward Harry and the girls. After the Malfoys, the next to arrived were the Weasleys, who also represented the Prewett. They arrived just a few minutes before the Longbottoms did, who were followed closely by Kingsley Shacklebot. Then the rest of the guests arrived almost simultaneously, popping on the front door or from the fireplace. Dorcas told Irina that the Prime Ministry originally wanted to come, as it was customary for the Ministry to get involved in matters regarding the Sacreds. But Regulus flat-out refused, and for the first time ever, was supported by each of the Sacreds. That was why none of Ministry officers attended the initiation, and there were no reporters as well. The moment the last guest, Horace Slughorn, arrived, Remus immediately casted a spell to repell unwanted visitors. Irina heard a lot of bangs from outside of the Manor that signalled everyone of the intruders. Lucius then wisely cast a spell to shut all of the noises so the initiation wouldn't be disturbed anymore.

"Thank you all for coming," Regulus said once everything had found their seats. He took Irina's hand and together, the pair walked to the head seats where Sirius and Marlene used to sit. Giving a nod to Lucius, the younger Black allowed the blonde wizard to take his part.

"As well know, we are all gathered here tonight because we all agreed to have Regulus Arcturus Black as our new Head Council of the Sacred Twenty-Eight," Lucius said in smooth and silky voice, commanding everyone's attention in a way Irina often saw Sirius did. "With the disappearance of his brother Sirius Orion Black, it is needed for Regulus Black to take over his brother's duties and have the honour to lead us all."

"And should Regulus Black refuse the honour," Kingsley Shacklebot added, as he was the second most powerful Sacred after Lucius. "The Head Council duties will be passed over to Lucius Malfoy, as the second-in-line heir. If that is to happen, it marks the beginning of the Malfoys' reign over the Sacreds. So, Regulus Arcturus Black, do you accept the honour?"

"I do," Regulus said solemnly.

As if on cue, all of the Sacred members got up from their seats and formed two lines, one was led by Lucius and the other by Kingsley. After patting her hand, Regulus released his grip on hers and went to stand in front of the Sacreds. Remus then came forward with a stone-basin of blue-coloured liquid and also a silver dagger, almost similar to the one Irina saw Regulus mailed to young Draco Malfoy. The former nurse was about to ask Dorcas what they were going to do when Regulus cut the palm of his wand hand, and let three drops of his blood dropped into the basin. Lucius followed suit, taking the knife from Regulus before cutting himself as well. When everyone had added their blood into the basin, Irina heard Remus muttered a spell, and the blue-coloured liquid glowed brightly before it changed into a deep purple colour. Then the Elves came in with twenty-eight goblets, one for each of the Sacreds. Regulus was the first one to dip his goblet into the basin, and the rest of the Sacreds took turns after him. No one took a sip until the last Sacred, someone who was called Yaxley, dipped had his goblet filled with the potion.

" _Magicae est fortitudo,"_ Regulus said before he took his potion.

" _Vivat purebloods,"_ the rest of the Sacreds answered, taking their potions as well.

"My fellow Sacreds," Regulus said, waving his hand elegantly in a salute, which the Sacreds returned with a bow. Led by Lucius, they all then took turns to take Regulus' hand

And as Irina watched the Sacreds kissed her husband's hand, the woman finally realised just how _huge_ the burden Regulus carried by becoming Head Council.

* * *

 _("Promise me something. Please.")_

 _("Anything. I'll promise you anything, love.")_

 _("You have to let me go first. Let me go first, Marlene, because I_ can't _stand living without you. And I promise I'll come find you on the other side.")_

When Marlene first met Sirius Black, the annoying prat _accidentally_ pushed her roughly against the train's compartment door. He was running after his new friend, James Potter, who he claimed to have stolen his Chocolate Frog. The stupid idiot didn't even blink when Marlene yelled at him, merely tilting his head to the side as he tackled his friend so James would give him back his Chocolate Frog. Scowling furiously, Marlene stepped over the brawling idiots and headed to the compartment where her new friend Dorcas was waiting. When she was sorted into Gryffindor, Marlene took her seat beside Lily Evans, and with Dorcas joining the awhile later, the three of them soon become close friends. The smile on Lily's face dimmed a little when James was threw himself beside Sirius, poking the other boy's hand relentlessly when he realised that Sirius was left-handed. The whole night of the feast, Marlene was engrossed in a conversation with Lily and Dorcas, who were a Muggle-born and a half-blood respectively. Growing up as Pureblood, Marlene found their knowledge of the Muggle-world remarkably interesting. She didn't talk to Sirius or James, and neither did Lily or Dorcas. Unfortunately though, when morning came, the two boys who had found two other idiots named Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew to befriend, decided to throw their first _ever_ prank as a Hogwarts student.

It was still a mystery how they managed to throw Dung-Bombs to the Slytherin table unnoticed.

If it wasn't for the fact that Lily was friends with Severus Snape, Marlene could probably save herself from the threat of detention with the then-unnamed Marauders. But because her luck was super rotten, she got involved anyway. She didn't really see it, but according to Dorcas' story many years later, who could be a little bias whenever it involved Remus, Snape tried to attack an unaware Remus. James saw it happened and he quickly sent a spell in Snape's way. The slimy git deflected the spell away, which would have hit Sirius if the cocky prick didn't send the spell away. Everyone watched in fascination as Lily's skin turned as green as her eyes when the spell landed on her. Marlene thought James and Sirius would have died right then and there when Lily glared at them, if her stunning green eyes could kill. Seeing that she was a Muggle-born who knew nothing of defensive spells, Lily did the first thing she had in mind – which was to punch James Potter right in the face. Being the good friend that she was, Marlene tried to pull Lily off James so she wouldn't poke James' eyes out. Unfortunately for her, Sirius tried to grab for her too. In the end, whatever she said to McGonagall fell on deaf ears when she said that the four of them weren't brawling. They were all given detention for three days, scrubbing McGonagall's office. It could be said that thanks to McGonagall, there would be no James and Lily or Sirius and Marlene. If Marlene got the chance to go back to that day, she would _never_ change a thing.

 _("Black? What are you doing? Were you thinking of jumping?")_

 _("Sod off, McKnickers. What do you care anyway.")_

"Miss McKinnon? Auror Moody is ready to see you," a younger woman said, cutting short Marlene's thoughts. Giving a nod to the woman, Marlene then came inside into Alastor Moody's office.

Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody was probably the only person in the Ministry that Sirius trusted. He always said that if Sirius was away and Marlene ever needed anything, she could always trust Moody. The moment Sirius was taken, Marlene had tried to book an appointment with the Auror. But his secretary always told her that he was busy and that her status as a Senior officer didn't matter. When Moody found out that Marlene had been trying to get a chance to talk to him, the grumpy Auror went ballistic, saying something about anyone related to Sirius Black would always be welcome in his office and anyone who said otherwise would get a brutal kick in their behind. Marlene would have laughed when she received a Floo-call from the same witch that denied her request if she wasn't thinking about Sirius. But since she was, she merely put a serious a face as she entered Moody's office, finding the older Auror sitting on his seat with his legs propped on his table. In all the years she knew Moody, she'd never been into Moody's office. She wasn't surprised though, to find the whole room dark and gloomy. It fit Moody's personalities. The Auror barely lifted his head upon Marlene's arrival, merely waving his hand shortly toward the seat across from him. His good-eye was busy reading the report in front of him while his fake-eye was set on Marlene. It felt like hours until Moody final had his attention solely on Marlene, and by then, the witch was feeling a little tense and anxious.

"Bloody reports," Moody growled in his rough voice as he struggled to get off his seat. "I've always hated filling them, even more so now as a Senior officer. It's a flipping waste of time, I tell you."

"You and I share that in common, Alastor," Marlene said, watching Moody wobbling to sit on the edge of his desk so he was closer to Marlene. Despite being in her thirties, she still flinched when Moody's good-eye glared at her.

"You're lucky you're a lot likeable than most Ministry officers I know," the old Auror said. "I really am not in the mood to joke around."

Marlene almost smiled at his comment, remembering that time Sirius told her the story about how Moody hexed Dawlish for making horrible jokes during a mission.

"I know why you're here," Moody said, sobering up Marlene's thoughts in an instant. "You want me to approve Lupin's request to gather a special team to rescue your fiance."

"Yes," the witch confirmed. "Remus told me that you put it on hold. I want you to approve it as soon as possible."

Moody tilted his head to his side before answering. "I'm afraid can't do that, McKinnon."

 _"Why?"_ Marlene almost yelled. "You're the bloody Head Auror, for Merlin's sake! Even Sirius could sneak himself and Tonks to go rescue Charlie Weasley. Why couldn't you do that as well?"

"Because, if the media ever finds out I'm sending out a team to rescue your darling fiance, and is led personally by Remus Lupin, everyone will go barking mad," Moody said. "Whether you like it or not, Sirius Black's name is the only reason why the world is under control. People _fear_ him. I'm under the impression that not all Death Eaters know about him being captured – and I want to keep it that way. We _can't_ let them have the upper hand."

"So you're just going to leave him to _die?"_ By this point, Marlene was almost hysterical.

"No, I'm bidding my time," Moody said calmly, and it _irritated_ the witch. " _When_ we're sending a team to rescue him, it _has_ to be the right time."

"The right – _I'm pregnant, Alastor! I am pregnant with his child!"_ Marlene screamed, standing abruptly that she kicked her chair back. "The father of my child is captured and is probably being tortured within an inch of his life. And you're sitting here, bidding your _time_ until it's appropriate to rescue him?"

"You're wrong to think that," Moody said in a dark tone. "I am definitely _not_ just sitting here. If you must know, _Marlene,_ I've gone looking for him myself."

This caught Marlene caught off guard.

"Wait, _what?"_ the witch said, calming down a little.

"Lupin is always a two-goody-shooes. He doesn't understand the concept of rebelling, which is ironic seeing that who his friends are. So I take matters to my own hand."

"You mean – "

"Last week, I took Tonks and Shacklebot to follow some trails we found. We heard news that there were Death Eater sightings in Dublin. When we got there, we were a second too late. And believe me when I say that I would have asked Lupin to come along if it weren't for Dumbledore. Lupin is always better at tracking than any of my students."

" _Dumbledore?_ What's Dumbledore got to do with all this?"


	24. THIRD YEAR: Chapter 3

**NOTES:** HELLO! God, it's _sooo_ good to be back. Good Lord, college is _craaazy._ I'm actually in the middle of my finals, but I have some time to spare so I decide to continue this _long_ awaited chapter. But I've to warn you though, I just finished this story like, _five_ minutes ago and I haven't had the chance to proof-read it. So, I'm terribly sorry for the mistakes. Anyway, I won't keep you waiting any longer. Here's the next chapter! ;)

* * *

"Wow."

"Harry, stop it."

"I can't believe it."

"Shut up."

"This is unbelievable."

"Well, it's true so believe it."

"What was Dumbledore _thinking?"_

"He didn't think. That's why. Now, shut up."

Remus glared at his Godson, who merely smirked at him. It didn't take long for the werewolf to break into his first grin in months, relieved to see that the boy he'd always loved like his own was finally smiling again. Ruffling the boy's forever-messy hair, Remus urged him to get onto the train with his friends. He looked around the station, feeling his gut clenched as memories of his own time boarding the train all those years ago began to flood his mind. Since the time he graduated with his friends, a lot had happened to him. Looking back now, it broke his heart that he'd be boarding the train alone without his friends anymore. As he took his first on board the train, he was suddenly overwhelmed by the need to cry his eyes out like a little kid. Seeing all those kids running around with careless abandon, he couldn't help himself when he mourned for the friends he lost. Taking a deep breath, he tried his best to keep his emotions at bay, and went on to find an empty compartment for himself. He found one located not very far from where Harry and his friends were, and slipped in quietly before the boy noticed he was there, knowing that even if Harry liked having Remus with him, the now-teenager would prefer Remus to keep his distance. No doubt people would start to pester him about it.

 _(He noted a little too late that the compartment Harry chose was the same one he and the Marauders dubed as theirs.)_

When he felt the train moved, Remus' thoughts had gone back to the conversation he had with Dumbledore the previous week. The old man had told him about the news that not long after Sirius was captured, there a prison break from Azkaban. Before Dumbledore could tell him who was the escapee, Remus already knew that it was his former friend _Wormtail._ It was just a week after his transformation, but the rage he felt upon knowing that the Ministry had not only ignored his formal requests to grant him permission to rescue Sirius, they had also hidden the fact about Wormtail's escape from him, made him worried for Dumbledore's safety. He could feel the beast in him growled at the thought that the filthy rat could be the one who had taken Sirius away. He was thankful that Dumbledore was quick to distract him by explaining that the reason why Moody hadn't allowed him to go after Sirius himself was because Dumbledore needed him at Hogwarts. It took Remus awhile to realise what the powerful wizard really meant, and by the time he did, he nearly laughed at the thought of him, one-fourth of the Marauders, becoming a _professor._ He could almost hear James' weird-sounding giggles and Sirius' bark-like laughter at the hillarity of it all. He knew that Dumbledore meant for him to be at Hogwarts to look for the students _(read: Harry Potter)._ But _still_. Never in his whole life Remus thought he would ever go back to Hogwarts as a professor after all the trouble-making he'd done.

Remus had no idea when exactly he had fallen asleep, but when the train stopped abruptly, he was awoken so suddenly his first instinct was to whip his wand out. He grimaced when he noticed how the temperature dropped, how he could see the glass he was leaning on began to freeze. His wand was prepared and the incantation was on the tip of his tongue when he saw the dark figure of the Dementor passing his compartment, watching baited breath as the creature passed by. He felt a chill ran down his spine when he realised where the Dementor was headed, and Remus didn't waste another time to head to Harry's compartment. He was gripped with blind terror when he saw the Dementor leaned onto his boy, saw how Harry froze when the blasted creature began to give him the Kiss. Yelling at the Dementor, he quickly conjured the Patronus Charm right when the Dementor turned its attention at him, the memory of his wedding to Dorcas was the fuel that helped him to conjure the silver-wolf running out of his wand. He forced the Dementor to go away, and soon the creature exited the train with three others. It took several minutes until the train started moving again, but by then, Remus had gone to check on Harry who had fainted.

"…you okay? Harry? Harry, wake up," Remus heard Ron said as he gently shook his best friend.

"Stop shaking him, Ronald!" Hermione scolded, slapping the back of Ron's head. "You're going to make him feel nauseaus."

" _Ow!_ No need to be abusive, Mione," Ron muttered. Both third years quickly scooted aside once they saw Remus standing by the door.

"It's okay. He'll be fine. Don't worry," Remus said with a small smile as he lowered himself beside both kids. He then Summoned for the chocolate he always prepared in his bag, knowing that Harry would need it.

After sometime, Harry blinked a few times before he opened his eyes, his green orbs settled on his Godfather first. He swallowed heavily and said, "That was a Dementor, right?"

"Yeah," Remus said, helping Harry to sit down and then shoving the chocolate into his hand. "Here. Eat this. You'll feel better."

"Thanks," Harry said, going uncharastically silent for someone who used to be so talkative. But seeing that he just faced a Dementor, it was rather normal. With Ron's help, the boy went back to his seat beside his friend while Remus took his beside Hermione.

"How are you feeling now, Harry?" Hermione asked, the worry in her tone reminded Remus of the late Lily Potter. "Do you need anything else? Water, perhaps?"

"I'm fine… How long was – "

"Just a few minutes. It's okay though. No need to worry about it," Remus said, patting the boy's shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to someone."

Remus gave his Godson a smile before leaving the three friends. He could still hear Harry asking his friends though, whether any of them fainted as well. Making a note to himself that he'd need to talk about it to Harry, Remus then headed to talk to the trian conductor. The Auror asked why did they let the Dementors boarded the train, and when the conductor answered that it was the Minister's order, he could feel himself becoming annoyed. Sirius had always told him how Fudge was a complete buffoon. But Remus never thought that Fudge would ever be that idiotic as to order Dementors to board the Hogwarts Expresse when it was filled with _hundreds_ of underage students. He knew that in Fudge's simple-minded brain, the Minister probably thought that he was doing the right thing, what with Wormtail was on the loose. But it didn't mean it _was_ right. Remus swallowed heavily as he imagined what would happen to Harry if he wasn't there. He decided to check other students for fear that Harry wasn't the only the Dementors found interesting. By the time he'd checked everyone, he was glad that no one was affected the way Harry did. But Remus did notice how shaken Luna Lovegood was as she huddled with Cedric Diggory, who no doubt had gone to her compartment where she had been with Ginny Weasley. The Auror made another mental note to talk to Dumbledore about assigning someone to keep a close eye on the Lovegood girl.

When the train arrived, he waited until every student had gone out, lest he'd have to fight his way through amongst the crowd. With his status as the number one Auror Europe had ever seen, along side with Sirius, he didn't mean to be vain when he said that students would gawk at him, and in turn would cause quite a long line. It was almost fifteen minutes later when he finally went toward a carriage, made a quick nod toward the Thestral that nudged him in the shoulders. He realised it a little too late when he saw the carriage wasn't empty. Luna and Ginny were there, smiling politely as him as they scooted over to make some space for him. Muttering a quick thank you, Remus took his seat. The whole ride to the castle, Remus watched the young girl sitting in front of him, and marvelled quietly that despite her pale-skin and blond hair that she inherited from her father, the girl looked a lot like her mother. Back when they were students, Pan Fawley was one of the girls in his year that he got along rather well, the others being Lily and Marlene. Coming from one of Sacred families, the late witch always brought herself in a way most Purebloods did. It came off as a shock to Remus when the witch came to approach him, asking him whether he could help her with her Defence work. Most of her siblings were upity and snobbish, while she was the complete opposite. It was probably why he got a long well with her, because in a way, she was very much like his _very_ Pureblood friends James and Sirius.

 _(He could still remember the time he tricked the two Purebloods into believing that little people were used to make movies or shows in the telly.)_

"Thanks for your company, Auror Lupin," Luna said when the carriage stopped and the three of got off it. Her redheaded friend nodded in agreement.

"You're welcome," Remus said, giving them a smile. "See you in class, girls."

While the girls went into the main entrance, Remus took a turn toward where the professors usually gone into. He gave a light chuckle at the thought of him and his friends going through this route instead of the main entrance where students usually went to back in their third year. The look on all of the professors' face when they saw the four of them coming behind were priceless, especially the way McGonagall was between grinning and glaring at them. He saw the door to the Great Hall was pushed opened as the seventh years got in when he himself finally got to the teachers' table. When he saw that the only empty seat left was the one beside Snape, he forced himself to stop the immature urge from pouting and quietly made his way toward his assigned seat. He felt all eyes were set on him as he walked, coming from the fifth to seventh years that had filled the Hall, their whispers were caught into his ears with the help of his enhanced hearing, thanks to the beast in him. He felt a little self-conscious with all the attention he received, since he was never that good with all that attention. He welcomed the sneer Snape gave him when he took his seat beside the Potion master, feeling a sense of nostalgia. When the group of third years entered the Hall, the werewolf's eyes automatically went to search for his Godson, who waved at him as he went with his friends to sit at the Gryffindor table.

The dinner went well, in Remus' opinion. When he was introduced by Dumbledore to the students, almost all of them students gave him a loud cheer, the loudest came from Harry, obviously. Smiling politely at the welcome he received, he lowered himself back onto his seat and listened along with everyone to Dumbledore's speech. The old wizard explained that the students had to be careful from the day on because the Ministry assigned Dementors to guard Hogwarts. Remus knew, even if Dumbledore never let on what he truly felt, the Headmaster was actualy _very_ angry at the thought of those dark creatures around his school, knowing how protective Dumbledore was toward his students. After the dinner was over, Dumbledore told all students to go to their dormitory, but not before making exceptions for Harry and Draco Malfoy. The werewolf couldn't stop himself from frowning, and was about to ask Dumbledore what did he want to talk about, when McGonagall passed on a message that told him to stay too. Remus obliged and watched as everyone obediently followed Dumbledore's instructions, leaving him and the Headmaster with the two students. With a kind smile and a flick of his hand, Dumbledore motioned the two boys to come forward toward the teachers table, the whole time the old wizard himself moved to take a seat beside Remus, where Snape just sat seconds prior. As the boys made their way, Remus observed the two of them quietly, marvelling how they alike they actually were despite looking like complete opposites. Both of them were just children but the two of them practically symbolised both sides of the war, just because their families were much involved in the war. The thought that the two of them had helped stopping Voldemort _twice_ seemed a little worrying for Remus.

Children should _never_ be fighting a war.

"Take a seat, boys," Dumbledore said, moving the two seats belonged to McGonagall and Sprout across him for the boys to sit on. "Do you want still want anything? This smoked beef, perhaps? Or a glass of pumpkin juice?"

"No, thank you, sir," Draco answered for the both of them as he and Harry took his seat.

"I didn't mean to be rude, Professor," Harry said, throwing a glance at Remus. "But what is it do you want to talk about, sir?"

"Just like your father," Dumbledore said with a fond smile. "He too liked to get straight to the point. Though you're a lot more polite than he was, if I had to add."

"That's Lily, I suppose," Remus quipped, laughing a little as he picture his friends.

"Yes, yes, you're right," the Headmaster chuckled before sobering up, his expression gone all serious. "You two are well aware of what's happened lately, right?"

The two boys stiffened, and it was Draco who answered it. "We do, sir – _I_ do. And I'm not saying this because of who my father is, but I swear to Merlin, he's got _nothing_ to do with the Death Eaters who took Auror Black. I can vouch for that, sir."

Remus noticed that even though the boy was talking to Dumbledore, Draco couldn't stop himself from throwing glances toward Harry, who looked as if a huge burden was just relieved off his shoulders upon hearing Draco's words. And, if Remus was to be honest himself, he too felt relieved upon knowing that the Malfoys (read: Lucius), weren't involved. It wasn't like Remus cared about Lucius or anything; nope, there was absolutely no love lost between the two men. But the Auror hated to see the young blond in front of him being robbed off his father. A growing boy needed both of his parents to grow up well, especially someone as troubled as the young Malfoy.

"I know that, Mr Malfoy," Dumbledore said. "And if your father _is_ involved in any way, let me assure _all_ of you that it's for a good thing."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked before both boys could. But even before Dumbledore answered him, Remus could tell what he meant already.

"As of right now, Lucius Malfoy is a member of the Order. He'll be our second eyes and ears inside Voldemort's inner-circle." Turning to the gaping blond sitting beside Remus' Godson, Dumbledore smiled brightly and said, "You should be proud of your father, Draco. It's not easy to shed off everything you've believed your whole life, but Lucius managed to do so. And now he's trying to do something even _crazier._ "

"Is that why he's been gone a lot lately?" Draco said, looking both worried and proud, though the latter outshined the former. "To do _that?"_

"Yes, it is," Dumbledore confirmed, giving one of his infamous winks.

"What? What is his father trying to do right now?" Harry asked, looking curious. Remus eyed Dumbledore closely and nearly had a heart attack when he heard Dumbledore's answer.

"He's trying to rescue your Godfather, Harry."

* * *

Lucius was at home when he saw his daughter's hair changed colour on its own. She was in the nursery with her brother, and Draco was reading a book to her sister when Lyra, upon seeing the pink-haired fairy on the book her brother was holding, closed her eyes and willed her hair to change to purple. Draco trailed off mid-sentence and stared at his sister's purple hair, staring at it for awhile before he continued reading to her, as if nothing had happened. For some reason, the sight of his daughter sporting purple hair brought Lucius to a realisation that he had to _change._ It probably because Lyra being a Metamorphmagus brought _another_ Metamorphmagus into his mind, but truth to be told, he really didn't care why. Lucius just knew that he could no longer join the Dark Side anymore. He realised that for once, the old Pureblood ways wouldn't work – that one day, someone would bring an end to all this blood-supremacy. The Malfoys weren't always associated to the Dark Side. Yes, they were a prejudiced bunch, like almost every Pureblood family in Europe. But they weren't vindictive. It was only until Abraxas Malfoy became best friends with the Dark Lord that the Malfoy name began to gain its foul status. So, with that realisation in mind, as he stepped back from his children's nursery, Lucius knew what he had to do.

 _("Severus, I need your help. Please…")_

 _("Well, well… Look how the mighty have fallen.")_

It wasn't easy to convince Dumbledore that he wanted to join the Order. Even with Severus by his side, whose real agenda he'd always known for over a decade, the old coot wasn't so easily convinced. In all the years Lucius knew Dumbledore, not once did the Headmaster ever dropped his mask of joviality. But that day, when Lucius practically _begged_ for Dumbledore to give his protections to his family in exchange for his services, those twinkly blue-eyes the old wizard was always known for was replaced with a cold hard look. Lucius felt like he was seeing another person the whole time he tried to explain himself, his self-confidence was hammered down by the cruel-look in Dumbledore's eyes. In the end though, after what had felt like _years_ of silence to let Dumbledore make a decision, the great wizard made a curt nod. Lucius would have breathed in relief, but he knew it wasn't over yet. He was right to think so, because the next thing Dumbledore did was to assign Lucius with his first task to prove himself.

Lucius was one of the first to know about Sirius Black, probably second only to Black's own family. After all, Lucius was _there_ when the Avery made a meeting between the remaining Death Eaters that weren't in Azkaban, bringing that traitorous _filth_ Peter Pettigrew with him. When they attacked the Auror at the Ministry, Lucius flat out refused to have any part in it, knowing just bad it would affect his family. He was there though, when they brought Black to dungeon of Macnair Manor, and even though he didn't join the others to torture Black, Lucius still felt guilty when he merely stood back and watched Black got beaten into a pulp. Then, that evening with his daughter revealing herself as a Metamorphmagus urged him to do the right thing. Lucius would have rescued Black right away after he went to Dumbledore, but they'd moved the Auror into some place else. The blond wizard wasn't told about the location because they were suspicious of him. It took two months until Lucius finally managed to find out where they kept Black. It turned they used the old Lestrange Manor in North Wales, where they knew no one would ever suspect, seeing that the last time someone ever visited the Manor was over a decade ago. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd married Bellatrix's sister and was best friends with Rodolphus, Lucius doubted he could enter the Manor so easily as it was so heavily guarded with hundreds of spells. He was still a little wary though, as he made his way to the dungeon, his wand at the ready the whole time. He let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding when he finally reached the dungeon, using his wand to lit each one of the cells to find Black. He wasn't even surprised to find the Auror in the last and most horrible cell of all. His four limbs were shackled to the wall behind him, and stripped naked for all to see. There was a small pool of blood gathering under him, dropping from each of the ghastly wounds he suffered all over his body. His left hand was broken from the looks of it, and Lucius could only imagine how much in pain Black was. In fact, Lucius feared that he was too late.

"Black? Black, can you hear me?" Lucius asked once he had knealed in front of the man. Using his wand, he released Black off his bounds, and was quick to catch him before he fell flat onto the floor. Taking off his cloak, Lucius Transfigured it into robes for Black to wear.

"Black, wake up," Lucius said one more time. It was awhile later when Black finally opened his eyes, his grey eyes unfocused.

"Malfoy…" the Auror croaked, his voice made Lucius wondered just how horrible his fellow Death Eaters tortured him. "W-what are you…doing here?"

"What does it look to you?" Lucius retorted, waving his wand to check on the Auror's condition. He made a small grimace when he realised that it would be impossible to take Black on side-along Apparition, what with all his wounds.

"Well…I- I'm naked, and w-we're alone in this…this dungeon. I- I can think of…a few things."

Lucius glared at the younger man, who made a weak grin as he struggled to sit up, pushing himself up with his good-hand. Rolling his eyes, Lucius said, "This is not the time to be joking, Black. Now, tell me; how long do you need to recover? I can fix your hand and heal the wounds, and I have some food with me. But you still need sometime until I can take you on side-along Apparition."

"Three days," Black said almost immediately. The _(former?)_ Death Eater scoffed in return.

"Yeah, right. I'll give you three weeks."

" _One_ week."

"Ten days and that's it. I'm _not_ risking getting you killed just because you insist on being your stupid and reckles heroic-self."

Black pouted immaturely, and for a split second, Lucius was reminded of his son. Flinching a bit when Lucius muttered a spell to heal his broken hand, the Auror muttered, "Fine. Ten days it is."

"Good boy."

"I'm injured, y-you know. That doesn't…mean you have to…to treat me like a child."

"Shut up or I'll poke your eyes out, Black."

Lucius was a little surprised when Black complied, but he made no comment about it. He merely continued on his work, cleaning the bleeding wounds and tried to close them as best as he could. The older wizard frowned at the carved words on Black's chest, but wisely kept his thoughts to himself. Even though it'd only been two months, Black had lost a lot of weight and was at the point of nearly being skeletal. By the time he was done patching up the wizard, he was practically covered in Black's blood while the Auror was covered in thick bandages. He then pulled the food he brought with him, and for the sake of both of their dignity, he let Black ate it all by himself, no matter how painful it looked for the Auror to do so. It was almost morning when Black was done with his food and was slowly taking healthy gulps of water down his throat. He still looked pathetic and Lucius doubted he could stand already. But at least, he looked to be stronger. After all, he just did eat a huge portion of meat meant for _three_ people.

"I'll come back in ten days, okay?" Lucius said, waving his wand to get rid off the blood covering himself. "I leave some food and water over for the next ten days. They are all Charmed to last till next _month,_ so you have nothing to worry. In the mean time, I'll try to hold them off from paying you a visit so you can recover properly. Do you understand, Black?"

"Of course," the Auror drawled monotonously. "Just one question though, Malfoy. _Why?"_

Giving the younger wizard a small smile before he left, Lucius merely said, "Time for me to pick a side, isn't it Black?"


	25. THIRD YEAR: Chapter 4

**NOTES:** Oh my _God,_ I feel awful. It's been _ages_ since I last updated. Sorry about that! As cliche as it sounds, college was just _bleh._ I did get straight A'sfor my GPA, so I guess all the stress and exhaustion and the lack of sleep were worth it teehee :P Also, Astoria in my story is only a year younger than the Golden Trio and Draco, meaning that she's the same age as Ginny and Luna. Btw, have you guys watched _Beauty and the Beast? OH MY GOD I LOVED IT!_ I actually had really, really, _really_ low expectation because after bloody _Suicide Squad_ , I dared not to hope too much anymore. But BATB was amazing! Anyway, I probably should just shut up now. Happy reading!

* * *

"Mate? Hey, are you listening to me? _Harry!_ "

"Yes, Ron; I'm listening."

"Then why the bloody – "

"Stay here."

Harry didn't even give his best friend the chance to digest what he said because he'd snuck under his Invisibility Cloak and slipped passed the redhead. Careful not to bump against people he passed, Harry made sure he kept a few paces behind from the blond Slytherin with whom he'd been getting along really well. Ever since that night after the feast when Dumbledore revealed that Lucius Malfoy was trying his best to rescue Sirius, the Gryffindor had made it a habit to hang around the young Malfoy in hopes of getting news about his Godfather. They would keep their meetings a secret though, for fear that there would be Voldemort's supporters saw them together and came to the conclusion that they were no longer sworn-enemies. The only people who knew about his newfound friendship with Malfoy were Dumbledore, Remus and Regulus. It wasn't like they didn't trust any of their friends. It was more because both boys didn't feel quite ready yet to reveal their friendship to others. But this time, it was different. True, he did come after the blond to get information about Sirius that Malfoy might receive from his father. However, Harry had never blatantly excused himself from Ron to talk to Malfoy. They usually sent notes to each other if they wanted to meet up. The reason this changed was because Harry saw Malfoy had an undivided attention when he was watching a group of female Ravenclaws in his year was bullying a small blonde girl before another Ravenclaw girl, this time older, came to the younger girl's rescue. When the younger girl slipped passed everyone while the older girl was chastising the bullies, Harry noticed Malfoy quickly went to follow the girl. As far as Harry knew, the only girl Malfoy had ever given his attention to was Hermione. And like a protective brother, Harry didn't like it if Malfoy had plans on playing Hermione's heart like that.

"…and I thought we both agreed on telling a professor about this, Lovegood. Or at least, tell your body guard Diggory that the bullying hasn't stopped," Harry heard Malfoy told the girl when he finally caught up on both of them.

"You know I can't possibly burden the professors all the time about how others treat me, Draco," the girl said. She had her back to him so Harry couldn't see her face. "And I can't always come running to Cedric either."

From where Harry was, he could see Malfoy rolling his eyes in barely repressed agitation. It brought a grin to the green-eyed boy because, what with the both of them had similar colouring, it almost looked like Malfoy was scolding his little sister. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Malfoy said, "Lovegood, those girls nearly threw a _boiling hot_ coffee at you if Chang hadn't interefered. You do know that is dangerous, right? Or should I write you an essay about what would have happened if they managed to do so?"

"But they _didn't_ , so I guess all is well," the girl replied stubbornly. When Malfoy glared at her, she merely took Draco's hand and pat it gently, seemingly unaware of the way the Slytherin tensed at the contact. "I'm alright, Draco. I'll _be_ alright. Thank you for looking out for me. Everyone always says that Slytherins are heartless and evil, but I know you are not."

Malfoy looked like he was going to argue to uphold his reputation as a _bad_ person, but he seemed to opt against it when he sighed heavily and gave a curt nod. " _Fine_. But promise me that you will _not_ wander alone anymore, okay? At least go with Weaslette. It's better than nothing."

"It's Ginny, Draco. Her name is Ginny, short from Ginevra. I've told you about it before."

"Whatever. Now go. We can't have people finding out about our secret friendship, Lovegood. And trust me, bad things _will_ happen if they do."

The Ravenclaw nodded her head before she walked away. Harry walked silently toward Malfoy until he was standing right behind him, watching Malfoy eyeing the girl closely like a hawk. It was only when the girl had turned around a corner that Malfoy took his eyes off her and sighed in relief. Harry took his chance to surprise his Slytherin friend and said, "I didn't know you're playing a saint these days, Malfoy."

The blond whirred around in shock, whipping his wand at Harry, before letting a string of curses when Harry took off his Cloak while laughing. Glaring at him, Malfoy tucked his wand away and said, "Merlin's beard, Potter. If I'd _died_ because of heart attack right then and there, I swear to Merlin, I would _haunt_ you for the rest of your life _and_ your next life."

"You should have seen your face," Harry chuckled, giving the blond a cocky grin.

"Ha ha ha, aren't you funny." Scowling as he waited Harry to stop laughing, Malfoy then said, "I was going to write you so we could meet tonight. _But here you are_ … Why did you follow me?"

"Saw you going after that Lovegood girl. I also noticed you watched the whole thing when the Ravenclaw girls were bullying her. I thought it was weird so I decided to follow you. Didn't think you would be scolding her for being so naïve."

Malfoy tensed a little bit by the time Harry was done talking. "I thought I was being discreet enough about it. I mean, not even Blaise Zabini noticed it."

Harry shrugged as the two made their way into an empty classroom for more privacy. "Well, when you grew up with Aurors, you tend to pick up little things from them. Being observant is one of them. Anyway, what happened back then? How did you know her?"

At first, it didn't see like the young Pureblood was going to tell Harry about it. It took awhile until the Malfoy heir finally came with the decision that he would tell him. "But you have to _swear_ that you won't tell anyone about it. Not even Weasley and Granger."

"Okay, okay. It will be added to our growing list of secrets, Malfoy. _Wow,_ I feel so special already." If Malfoy was annoyed, he hid it rather well.

"You remember that first day? When Dumbledore summoned the both of us? Well, just a week later, I received a letter from Regulus. He said that Professor Lupin told him to ask me whether I could look after this girl named Luna Lovegood. When I asked why, he just said that she was important. I owed Regulus a lot so I didn't ask anymore and told him I would do it. I looked for her and the first time I met her, she was climbing up the Black Lake while Ginny Weasley was defending her against two Slytherins her year who no doubt had pushed her. I waited until Weaslette was away to talk to Lovegood. It wasn't exactly easy to gain her trust, seeing that my reputation preceeds me. But when I explained everything to her, leaving out no details, she finally belived me."

"Really? She did?" Harry was genuinely surprised. "She believed you that easily?"

"Yeah, which is worrying. I mean, if it were me, I wouldn't even trust _myself._ And when I told Professor Lupin about it, he agreed with me. He said that this showed just how vulnerable she would be by being alone, her only friends being Cedric Diggory and Ginny Weasley. So, since then, I always made sure that I checked on her at least once a week."

"Wow, you really are going for sainthood," Harry remarked, earning a scowl from Malfoy that he returned with a grin. "One thing, by the way, before you told me anything about Sirius. _Why_ did Remus have to ask you about it through Regulus? And why didn't he ask _me?"_

This time, it was Malfoy's turn to shrug. "I asked Regulus the same thing and he said that Professor Lupin felt like I would be more agreeable if it was Regulus who asked me. And really, I too asked why didn't they get you to do this because it would be easier if it were you."

"And? What did he say?"

"He said that Professor Lupin felt that you had a lot on your plate already, worrying about Auror Black and all. And I have to say, I agree with him on that. No offense, Potter, but you look like you're about to explode on some days."

Harry nodded his head, feeling a little touched. "Okay, thank you for telling me all that. Now, is there anything from your father? Did he find Sirius yet?"

"I haven't read his letter yet," Malfoy admitted, pulling out a white envelope from his bag. "For some reason, I felt that this letter was meant for you more than me. So, I decided that we should read it together."

"Thank you," Harry said, to which Malfoy return with another one of his curt nods. Taking the letter from Malfoy's hand, Harry pulled the letter from the envelope, noticing the seal was torn already, and began to read it with the blond.

 _Son,_

 _Before you begin to read this letter, you have to make sure no one is around because what I'm going to tell you will be dangerous if anyone ever finds out. True, I have Charmed the letter so that only anyone with Malfoy blood can open the letter. But it's better to be safe than sorry. So, go find an empty class room. Lock it so no one will bother you by barging in. And oh, please go get Mr Potter. He needs to know about this too._

 _I have found him. I have found Sirius Black. It wasn't easy because they I think they were getting suspicious of me, hence why I wasn't told of the location when they moved Black. They took him to Lestrange Manor, knowing that it had been years since anyone was there. I found him in the dungeon, and he was terribly injured. I knew that he was tortured, but I didn't think it was that bad. I would spare you boys from the details though. But I promise, I tried my best to heal his injuries and made sure he ate._

 _I would have rescued him right then, but his condition wouldn't allow me to Side-Apparate with him without getting Splinched. So, I planned on coming back to him in ten days – and that was yesterday. I trust you boys would tell Dumbledore and Lupin about this. Also, tell them that if they want to come to Lestrange Manor, they have to take Snape with them because only someone with the Dark Mark can enter the Manor._

 _I'll bring him back. I promise._

 _Your father,_

 _Lucius Malfoy_

"He did it," Harry whispered when they were done reading the letter. Slowly, a huge grin appeared on his face as he let out a hearty laugh. "Your father found Sirius! _Merlin, this is amazing!_ "

"I'm so happy for you, Potter," Malfoy said kindly, giving Harry one of his rare smiles. "And if there's anything new from Father, I promise I'll tell you about it. I'll even barge into Gryffindor's Common Room if I have to."

"Thank you very much," Harry said, feeling the happiest in his life since the night his Godfather was taken. "And please tell your father how grateful I am."

"I will," Malfoy promised. He then glanced at the letter, looking a little pensieve, before he said, "Father's Owl travels faster than most owls. And if he sent this from Malfoy Manor, it would take Aquila three days to get here."

"So, we'll just have to wait for a week till he brings Sirius here!" Harry nearly shouted in delight. "Oh, I'll have to tell Marlene and the others about this!"

When Harry walked out of that empty class room, he was pretty sure that the rest of the day would be good for him. He even had a huge smile on his face, which made Ron and Hermione a little quesy. ( _"Honestly, Harry, you're scaring us. I mean, you just_ smiled _at Filch for yelling at you," Ron said as he shared a look with Hermione.)_ By the time it was dinner, Harry was on the brink of exploding in joy. From where he was sitting, he couldn't stop himself from sending knowing grins at Remus, who merely cocked an eye brow at him. The Gryffindor had agreed with Malfoy that they would tell about the news about Sirius after dinner. But, as he was practically shaking in barely repressed excitement, looking down to his watch, hoping dinner would be over soon, Harry sort of regretted his decision. When dinner was finally over, he was just telling his best friends that he would meet them in the Common Room, when he saw Ron's eyes stared at something behind him while Hermione's face turned a faint shade of red. Turning around, he saw Malfoy standing behind him, his hand reached out in hesitation, probably debating whether he should tap Harry on the shoulder to alert him of his presence. Whatever it was, Harry didn't really think much about it. All he saw was the slight panic in those grey eyes, and how a few feet from them, Remus and Snape were watching them with the same look on their faces.

Right at that moment, he knew something was wrong.

"What?" Harry said, fearing for the worst. His suspicion rose when he saw Lucius Malfoy entered the Great Hall, attracting everyone's attention that he cared not about.

"It's your Godfather," Malfoy almost whispered, trying to be as quiet as possible, what with everyone going silent as they watched the two supposed-enemies.

"What about Sirius?" Harry said, instantly wary. "What's wrong with him?"

It was, however, wasn't his Slytherin friend who answered him.

It was his father.

"He's escaped," Lucius Malfoy said as he took his position behind his son. "I went to check on him this morning. I just had a feeling that Black would do something so _typical_ of him to do. And I was right. He'd left."

And before he knew it, Harry had fainted.

* * *

 _Shit, it was cold_.

 _That was the first thing that crossed his mind as he slipped past the front gates of the Manor, wearing only the robes Lucius Malfoy gave him. But he supposed he shouldn't be complaining, and instead thanked the fact that the only wards available in the Manor was to keep anyone from going into the Manor, and not the other way around. Every step he took sent burning pain all over his body, but he knew he had to keep on going. That rat bastard was out there, and that vermint was going to kill his family if he wasn't there to stop him. So he kept his trap shut, turned himself into his dog form, and hurried off to warn his friends his family._

Luna woke up with a jolt. She looked wildly all around the room, her breath laboured. When she saw that no one was awake, she swallowed heavily, feeling a little relieve. The girls in her room would treat her even more horribly if they ever found out she had prophetic dreams. It was still very early, the sun wouldn't be up for a couple hours. But Luna knew that her dream was important. Discreetly she grabbed for her notebook and began to draw her dream, stealing glances toward her room-mates for fear that they would wake up. She knew now that the man in her dream was none other than the missing Auror, Sirius Black. Auror Lupin, now _Professor_ Lupin, had told her who the man was, and reminded her that if she was to have dreams about him, she should tell him immediately. Keeping to her promise, once she was done with her drawing, Luna grabbed for her robe and quickly exited her dorm. She briefly wondered whether she should tell Cedric _or_ Draco first about her dream, seeing that Cedric knew about her ability, and Draco was rather close with Harry Potter, who was Sirius Black's Godson. But Luna knew that she couldn't waste one moment, so she hastily made her way to Professor Lupin's office.

"Luna," the good professor said, looking surprised to find her standing in front of his office at 5 in the morning. She noticed though that Lupin looked like he hadn't slept for a week.

"I'm sorry to bother you, professor," the Ravenclaw said, feeling a little guilty. "I can see that this isn't exactly the right time, but I had a dream, sir."

"A dream?" Lupin said, looking alert. He stepped back a little to allow Luna entrance.

The blonde nodded and showed the wizard her drawing. "Yes, sir. And it's about Sirius Black."

The moment the name escaped her lips, the Auror's whole composure changed. If he looked a little weary and tired before, he now looked ready for battle. Using his wand, he light up his fireplace, setting up the Floo network. Luna watched silently as the older wizard knelt down, throwing a handful of Floo powder into the fireplace then saying the word _Black Manor_ loud and clear. She saw Lupin's head disappeared into the green flames, and she waited along with him for someone to respond to him. It didn't take long though, probably only around ten seconds, until she heard a voice belonged to another male. She assumed it must Regulus Black.

"What is it, Remus?" the voice said. "You are aware it's still very early. Some of us _do_ need our beaty sleep, you know."

"Quit it, Reg," Lupin said, sounding impatient for the first time since she knew the man. He always seemed the most patient human being on Earth. "You know I wouldn't call unless it's important. It's about your brother."

" _Sirius?"_ Just like Lupin, the moment Sirius Black's name was mentioned, he sounded alert. "What news do you have of him? Please, tell me it's a good news."

"Well, it's not really my news. It's actually… You know what; I think you better talk to her yourself." Pulling his head off the green flames, Lupin turned to Luna and motioned the girl to come closer. "Come here, Luna. It's better if you explain to Regulus yourself about your dream. He's Sirius' brother, in case you haven't figured it out yet."

"Okay," Luna said before shoving her head forward the way she Lupin did. She felt a little dizzy as the view before her eyes transformed into one of a huge home, with a man in his thirties kneeling right in front of her.

"You must be Luna," Regulus Black said with a patient smile. "Remus has told me about your gift. You saw my brother in your dream, didn't you?"

Luna nodded her head. "I did. In my dream, he just escaped the dungeon where he was kept."

"Was he hurt?" Lupin asked, surprising Luna a little by his sudden question.

"He was. And he was cold too. But he seemed adamant to get back to his family, so he shrugged aside his pain and the cold he felt. I also saw him transformed into a dog. Is he an Animagus?"

"He is, but you must not tell anyone about it," Regulus said quickly. "He's an illegal Animagus. If the Ministry ever finds out, he's going to be sent into Azkaban."

"I won't tell anyone, don't worry," Luna promised.

"Do you think you can make a guess on where can be right now?" Lupin asked again. "According to the latest information we got, he disappeared sometime around yesterday."

"I don't know… I mean, he was hurt really bad, professor. Even if I could, I don't think it would be accurate. You didn't see the state he was in. It would take him ages to move around with all those injuries he sported."

"Then we probably can catch up," Regulus quipped. "The girl is right. Sirius couldn't be that far. We can ask Moody to send someone to find him."

"You underestimate your brother, Reg," Lupin said darkly. "When he's determined, the git can do unimaginable things, even if he's _dying._ And don't forget, he's in his dog form. He moves faster as a dog, and his sense of pain is less acute than his human form."

"I still think we should try. I'll get Marlene contact Moody immediately. You know she's the only one Moody listens rather easily to."

"Fine. I'll go tell Dumbledore. Maybe he's got some way to tract Sirius."

"You do that." Turning to Luna, Regulus gave her another smile. "And thank you very much for your help, Luna. It means a lot to us."

"It's nothing, really," the girl replied, feeling a little shy.

Together with Lupin, she pulled out of the fireplace, cutting off the connection. She listened carefully to Lupin's instructions to make sure she went back straight to her dorm, and to not go looking for Draco to tell him about her vision unless the blond himself approached her. She promised that she wouldn't do so, even as she wondered how on Earth the good professor knew her plan of telling the Slytherin so he could relay what she knew to Harry Potter. Bidding the wizard goodbye, Luna quickly made her way back to the Ravenclaw Tower. She would probably be back in the safety of her dormitory in no time, if she hadn't heard the sound of soft whimpers coming from an empty classroom. Luna wasn't unfamilair to the sound of sobbing, having had her own moments when the bullying got a little too bad for her. The thought that there was someone in that room, probably crying her eyes out, broke her heart. At least, even if she was bullied constantly, she had Cedric ( _"and now Draco," she added in her mind)_ to turn to. Making up her mind, she decided that she would talk to anyone in that room. When she found the door wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she pushed on it, she froze, fearing for the worst.

"Hello?" Luna called out. "Are you okay?"

There was a beat, and then she heard soft ruffling making their way toward the door. Another minute passed when Luna finally heard an answer, in a voice of a young girl. "Can you get me out, please? I've been locked here for hours."

"Have you tried _Alohomora?"_ Luna asked, letting out a frustrated sigh when she found that she had forgotten about her wand.

"I- I didn't have my wand with me," the girl said. "It wasn't like I w-was wandering around when I- I got locked in here."

Luna knew instantly what she meant. "Unfortunately, I don't have my wand with me too. But, I'm going to go get some help. You just wait here for a moment, okay?"

"Okay. Please, be quick. It's very dark in here, and cold too."

"I'll be right back. I promise."

The Ravenclaw quickly went back to Lupin's office, since he was the closest help she could get too. But when he didn't answer her after she knocked on his door for five minutes, Luna gave up, guessing that the professor probably had gone to see Dumbledore. The girl then wondered, what other choices did she have. She could have gone to other professors, but then she would have to explain why she was up around so early in the morning, and she didn't think Lupin would want her to tell anyone about her vision yet. That would mean she would have to ask help from another student, someone who wouldn't ask her too many questions. She immediately crossed Draco's name from her list, knowing that even if he didn't have a problem on helping her, the same couldn't be said about his fellow Slytherins if they saw her down in the dungeon. That would leave her with Cedric and Ginny. Her oldest friend would be the most perfect choice, seeing that the Hufflepuff common room wasn't so very far from where she was. Luna had just decided that she would go get Cedric, when she heard footsteps coming. Thinking that it was Filch, she hastily went to hide in one of the empty classrooms.

"… _can't_ believe you'd drag me _all_ the way to the dungeon to see that git," a voice said, coming closer to where Luna was hiding. "Honestly, Mione, your love escapades is going to get _me_ expelled! I thought you're supposed to be all about following the rules. The git must be rubbing off on you."

"I didn't _drag_ you to come with me, _Ronald,"_ another voice said, sounding annoyed. "You saw me about to sneak out of the common room, and decided all on your own that I would need the company to see Draco. So, if anyone's to blame, it's on you. Besides, why are _you_ up so early anyway? You were usually a pain to wake up."

"Oh, he's _definitely_ rubbing off on you," the first voice, Ronald, said in a snotty tone. "I mean, who the _bloody hell_ are you, and what have you done with my best friend Hermione Granger?"

"Shut it, Weasel," a new voice drawled, and Luna's eyes widened because she was familiar with this one. "The only reason she came all the way to see me was because your _boyfriend_ asked her to come and get me so he could discuss about his Godfather's disappearance with me."

"You're a huge git, Malfoy," the first voice retorted, while the second voice, Hermione, let out a small chuckle. Luna felt that it was safe for her to come out, and she did just that.

"Draco," she called, causing the three older teenagers to jump in surprise.

"Merlin's socks, Lovegood," Draco breathed, patting the spot where his heart must be beating fastly because of the shock. "If I died because you gave me a heart attack, I would _haunt_ you."

The other boy, who she now recognised as Ron Weasley, Ginny's older brother, smirked at the Slytherin. Luna ignored him though, and went on to talk to her Slytherin friend. "I'm sorry for scaring you, but I need your help. There was a girl locked in a classroom. She's been locked inside for hours. I think someone locked her in there."

"Poor girl!" the older girl, Hermione Granger, exclaimed. Giving Luna a small smile, she said, "Show us the way, dear. We'll help you to get her out."

" _Of course,_ she's taking us with her," Draco grumbled when Hermione dragged both him _and_ Ron Weasley by the hand to follow Luna. "It's just _so you,_ Granger, to be all bloody heroic."

"That's rich, coming from you, Malfoy," Ron said. Draco gave a condescending snort.

"I think it's rather for you to say that, Weasley. Do I need to remind you of the time you were concussed back in first year?"

"Oh, quit it, boys," Hermione snapped. "You two, _and_ Harry, are the most heroic and self-sacrificing people I've ever met. So really, you two should just shut up."

Luna would have laughed at the sight of the two older boys looking completely chastised by their bossy friend. But they finally arrived in front of the door where the girl was locked, and Luna immediately focused back on task at hand. The older girl seemed to understand, because she didn't waste anymore time, and pointed her wand at the door. There was a click, and the door creaked as magic moved it to reveal the girl who was locked behind it. The girl was smaller than Luna, even if she looked like she was from Luna's year. She had black hair that hung limp over her shoulders, framing her face that was wet with tears. Her eyes were still puffy from all the crying, but Luna could still see that her eyes were the most beautiful shade of turquoise. The girl gave Luna a shy smile, but then she cowered the moment she looked over Luna's shoulder. Knowing that the girl must be scared and probably feeling a little intimidated in the presence of three third years, the Ravenclaw took the initiative to give the girl a hug.

"It's okay," Luna said softly, feeling her heart went out for the girl when she felt how the raven-haired trembled. "They are my friend. They won't get you in trouble."

The girl looked like she was about to say something, but changed her mind when Draco spoke. "You're Daphne's sister, right? Astoria, isn't it?"

"Y-yes," the girl said in a small voice, and only then did Luna realise she was wearing the same Slytherin colours as Draco.

"Lovegood said you were locked in there," the older Slytherin said, his voice had taken the usual tone of cool indifference, and Luna sympathised with the girl when she seemed to shrink in her arms. "Who locked you there, Greengrass?"

"It w-was no one. I wasn't…I wasn't locked. No one put m-me in there."

" _Don't_ lie to me, girl," Draco snapped impatiently, making Luna wished he could be a little bit nicer. "Lovegood isn't the kind of person to lie about something like this. So, tell me the truth."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Malfoy!" It was Ron's turn to snap, glaring at Draco as he took off his robes and wrapped it around Luna and Astoria. "The girl is cold _and_ scared. She's shivering, you unfeeling dolt. Tone down the evilness a little bit, won't you?"

"Yeah," Hermione echoed, shooting the Slytherin a nasty look, to which Draco merely replied with a roll of his eyes. "Imagine if _this_ was Lyra, Draco. You wouldn't want someone to treat her like this, right? You'd probably smite them."

"I'm trying to be nice here, Granger," Draco said with an exasparated sigh. "If she'll just tell me who locked her in there, I could tell them off. It's because I _have_ a sister myself that I even care."

"The poor girl is traumatised," Hermione spat, her voice going a pitch higher. She looked like she was going to slap Draco in her frustration, but she noticed how Astoria hadn't stopped trembling, and probably decided she could slap Draco another day. "How about this; I take the girl to breakfast. Hopefully, she will tell me who's the culprit. Meanwhile, you two better take…"

"Luna," the Ravenclaw supplied when Hermione trailed off. "Luna Lovegood."

"Yes, thank you," Hermione said with a smile. "Take Luna back to her common room. I don't think it's safe if she goes wandering around the castle alone."

The older girl didn't even wait for a response. She had taken Astoria along with her to the Great Hall, leaving Luna with the two boys who scowled at the Gryffindor's retreating back. Luna heard Draco let out a heavy sigh before gently pushing Luna toward the direction of the Ravenclaw tower. "Come on, Lovegood. We're lucky today is Saturday because I need some much needed sleep."

"Did you go see Harry Potter?" Luna asked before she could stop herself, the drawing she had of her vision felt heavy in her pocket.

"Yeah," Draco confirmed, nodding his head. "Why? Do you want an autograph? Better ask Weaselbee. I think he handles Potter's autographs and pictures for fans."

"I am _so_ going to kill you one of these days, Malfoy," Ron grumbled. "Mark my words."

"Ooh, I'm scared," Draco drawled monotonously. When Ron waved his middle finger at him, the Slytherin merely cocked an eye brow. Ron apparently thought bickering with the blond took too much energy, so he probably decided to talk about something useful instead.

"Who do you think put the Greengrass girl in the that empty classroom? Must be someone from our year, at least."

"Definitely Pansy. She and Daphne have a life-long rivalry since they were like three. But Daphne always wins. Not only she's _much_ prettier, she's also much smarter. So, to spite Daphne, Pansy often takes it out on poor Astoria."

"And the older Greengrass didn't do anything about it?"

"Astoria worships her sister. The last thing she wants is for Daphne to think she is weak and incompetent. That's why she keeps silent."

Luna saw Ron opened his mouth, but whatever he said was lost on her because her head suddenly throbbed and she had another vision. The first thing she saw in her mind was big rocks littering all over the ground. It took her awhile to realise that she was at Hogwarts, and those big rocks were actually ruins from the destroyed walls of the castle. Then she saw Ron, who looked much older in her vision. He wasn't saying anything, even though his mouth moved as he looked around frantically for something. She heard a loud scream though, a bone-chilling scream that caused both she and Ron to whip around. She felt her insides went cold when she saw a masked man pointed his wand toward a figure on the ground. It was a girl, and she was writhing in pain, her familiar eyes looked pleadingly toward Ron. Luna's mind was still processing who that girl was when Ron let out the most gut-wrenching sound as he called for her name. The ginger raised his wand, and Luna _swore_ that she probably was going to witness murder right then and there, when she felt herself being shaken violently. She blinked once, and she found herself back to the present. Draco's grey eyes were looking at her in both worry and suspicion, while Ron, this time back to his actual age, looked scared.

"...you okay, Lovegood? _Snap out of it, girl!_ " Draco said urgently, lighting slapping Luna's cheek.

But Luna was stil eyeing Ron, who stared back right at her. She vaguely heard Draco said something about taking her to the Hospital Wing, and that was when she finally regained her focus. Yanking herself away from the blond, she practically ran the rest of the way back to her dorm, ignoring the two shocked boys. She didn't even realise that she'd dropped her drawing, which Ron picked up and showed to Ron with wide eyes. For the first time ever, Luna _didn't care._

Because she had a _much_ more pressing matter in her mind.


	26. THIRD YEAR: Chapter 5

**NOTES:** Hello, hello, hello! Been sometime since I last updated this story, I know. And this chapter will only have one part. I originally planned to have the second part about Sirius, but when I ended the first part, it didn't feel right to continue it with Sirius' journey. By the way, tell me what do you think of the story so far. What do you like, what you don't like, what you wish to read in the future. I'm sooo busy right now, with college assignments and other stuffs. On top of that, I have my mid starting tomorrow. I dunno when I'll be able to update next :( Also, if you feel like reading something else while you wait for me to update, feel free to check my newest story _Unsteady_ (a Scorpius/Rose story) and _Don't Kill the Magic_ (a modern!AU Founders story). Anyway, I'll just shut up so you can go ahead and start reading. So yeah, here goes the next chapter guys! :)

* * *

"I love you, Tonks. I have loved you from the moment I saw you when we were only eleven. I know I've caused you a lot of grief in the past year, but I promise, I'll spend the rest of my life trying my very best to make it up to you. I will treat you like the queen you are, and worship you as if you're a Goddess – because you _are,_ my love."

"Damn it, Charlie. Why are you always _so good_ with words? That was bloody beautiful, you know. But really, I don't need you to…to _worship_ me. All I need is your love."

"Then love you, I shall. Till my dying day, I promise to love you with every inch of my being."

 _"Godric's soul, you two are disgustingly chessy. Go get a room, kids!"_

Nymphadora Tonks, newly-appointed deputy for Remus Lupin, youngest one to have ranked so far up, self-proclaimed badass of the century, all-around the coolest female in the whole _goddam_ world _,_ practically _leapt_ off from her perch on her boyfriend's lap when Bill Weasley made his sudden entrance. Her face flushed red furiously almost as instantly as her change of appearance, replacing her natural-brown hair and brown-eyes into their usual purple glory. Her so-called boyfriend, on the other hand, merely cocked an eye brow at his older brother, still reclined casually on the couch. He didn't even bother to cover the fact that he had been spending the past half hour making out with infamous Metamorphmagus girlfriend.

"Sorry, brother mine," Charlie drawled monotonously. "We really didn't mean to traumatise your precious virgin eyes. Besides, I thought you were in Egypt. Did you miss me?"

"Piss off, kid," Bill spat, rolling his eyes in annoyance. But he failed to hide the grin that betrayed his happiness upon seeing his kid brother all well again. "Mum demanded I had to visit… What are _you_ doing here at the Burrow? Shouldn't you two be hiding in Auror Black's safe-house?"

"Moody's orders," Tonks answered instead. "He said there was something he wanted to talk about. Probably something about – "

 _CRACK!_

 _"TONKS! WHY THE HELL IS THIS PLACE WARD-FREE? DO YOU WANT YOUR BOYFRIEND TO GET KIDNAPPED AGAIN? FIX IT THIS INSTANCE."_

"Moody, how pleasant to see you," Tonk said, smiling sickeningly sweet before replacing it with an annoyed scowl.

"I do not like your tone, kid. And do fix your clothes, Weasley. We don't need to know what you and Little Miss Sunshine over there just did," Moody growled, his fake-eye rolled to the back of his head, probably glaring at Charlie's rumpled appearance. Much to Tonk's utter relief, Charlie actually _blushed_ as he tucked his shirt and fixed the buttons that Tonks had _accidentally_ ripped.

"Alastor!" Molly Weasley greeted, a big smile on her kind face as she entered the living room, her husband following behind her. "Charlie told me you'd be here in a few hours."

"Ah, I figure the sooner I talk to your boy and his girlfriend, the better it will be for everyone."

"Would you like something to drink, Alastor?" Arthur offered.

"No need, Arthur. I'll be very quick. I need to go see Regulus Black after this."

"Oh, okay… Do you need some privacy?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I didn't mean to be rude but this matter is rather classified," Moody grumbled, his face twisted rather weirdly in his attempt to look apologetic. "So, if you don't mind, I'd really like it if – "

"Don't worry about it," Bill said before leaving the room, his parents behind him.

Dragging a chair noisily toward the couple left in the room with him, the Auror then plopped down on said chair with a huff. He fidgeted a few seconds in his seat, cursing loudly the whole time as he reached for something in his pocket. " _Bugger…_ Ah, here goes the little bastard."

"What is this?" Tonks eyed the little purple gem Moody just gave her. It was no bigger than her thumb, but the way it glinted brightly gave Tonks a feeling that it wasn't as simple as it looked.

"That, kid, is a – " but before Moody could finish his words, Charlie had dropped onto the floor and began to convulse violently. The dragonologist was vaguely aware of his girlfriend's panic scream and the Head Auror's loud cursing as images began to appear in his mind.

 _"Do you know what this is, Weasley?"_

 _"Definitely not your brain. You'd be way smarter if it was."_

 _"This is the stone Merlin used to propose to the Lady of the Lake."_

 _"Hm, let me guess; it's incredibly powerful, isn't it?"_

 _"Clever boy. The Stone contains immeasurable power that not even your precious Dumbledore is able to wield, I bet."_

 _"The same goes for your precious Dark Lord, no doubt."_

 _Pain. Unbearable pain went all over his body for what seemed like hours._

 _"That's going to silent you for awhile, at least… Anyway, if this Stone is in the hand of a prodigious Seer, she can predict not only the future, but also prevent it from happening. That's just the smallest thing this Stone can do. Now, I know that you've been researching about Seers the past few years, using your job a disguise so you can stay for a long time snooping around Romania's records of Seers, what with the country being famous for housing legendary Seers. So, let's just make this quick, okay? Give me the name of the prodigy."_

 _"Ah, why don't you say so, mate? I'll give you the name, don't worry. It's…your mother."_

"…Charlie? Charlie, please wake up. Charl – _oh thank Merlin!"_

It took the tattooed redhead awhile to process things that happened around him. He blinked his eyes a few times to focus his sight. In front of him was his beloved Metamorphmagus, her purple eyes were wide with worry. Behind Tonks were his parents, Bill and a grumpy Moody. He didn't notice it at first, but when his brother shoved a glass of water into his hand, only did he realise his throat was dry as hell. With his girlfriend's help, he drank the water, feeling as if he hadn't drunk in weeks. It was the first memory he had of the time he got captured by the Death Eaters. The fact that he was thirsty hit a little too close to home, and he couldn't help but to shudder at the memory of being denied food and drink for days during his captivity.

"What happened, Charlie? My poor boy…" Molly whispered, taking her position beside Tonks.

"It's your memory, right?" Moody said, both of his eyes was looking at Charlie sharply. "You just had a flashback, didn't you, boy?"

Charlie nodded his head. His eyes caught the forgotten gemstone that was lying not far from where Tonks was kneeling beside him. He reached out for the purple stone, feeling it hum with power in his hand. "Where did you get this, sir?"

"Lucius Malfoy gave the stone to young Regulus. He said he nicked it from a Death Eater during one of their meetings." Moody stopped for awhile, his eyes narrowed slightly before he continued. "You _have_ seen this stone before, haven't you? Where did _you_ see it?"

"When they held me captive. They showed me the stone when they were – " Charlie's eyes widden as he remembered the details of his memory.

"What? What's wrong?" Tonks asked quickly, probably expecting Charlie to fall into a fit again.

"Can you give me the names of all Purebloods who were born in the 1980s? But Purebloods who have Romanian descendants," Charlie said, directing his question to the Head Auror. If his request caught Moody off his guard, the old wizard did a great job to ignore it.

"I can give it to you by tomorrow," Moody promised. "But first, you have to tell me what do you know of the stone, and why do you need the list of names."

"I'm sure Mr Malfoy's told Mr Black all about it. According to legend, the Stone used to belong to Merlin. Much like how Nicholas Flamel made the Philosopher's Stone, Merlin created his own years prior. It was called Eye of the Lake, and it was actually part of the ring Merlin gave to his beloved."

"The Lady of the Lake," Bill chimed in, being an avid Merlin fan.

"Correct. I'll not go into details about Merlin's relationship with Viviane, because that's going to distract us from the point of the story. Long story short, Vivian rejected Merlin and instead imprisoned him in a bark of a tree, or so said the legend. Anyway, the ring was lost for centuries, and those who knew about it believed it to be mere stories for children. But it's said that the Stone holds so much power, that only a select few are able to use it."

"Are you saying – "

"Oh no, You-Know-Who isn't after the Stone to use it. He won't be able too, and nor does Dumbledore. It's too much for someone unless they're of Merlin calibre. Besides, I'm pretty sure that not even his Death Eaters know where he is. But _someone_ is directing their movement in his place. And that person knows quite a lot about the Stone. Problem is, my memories still haven't returned all that much for me to notify who were involved."

"Why are they after the Stone then, if they weren't going to use it?" Bill asked, earning a nod of approval from Moody, who seemed to forget that the conversation was supposed to be private.

"No one can fully wield the power of the Stone. But legend has it that some… _special_ people can to an extent of it. For an example, a prodigious Seer can use the Stone to enhance her ability to predict to future, as well to _change_ and even _stop_ it from happening."

"Something tells me that you choose Seer as an example for a reason, boy," Moody said. "Were those filthy cretins looking for a Seer? Was it _the_ information you withheld from them?"

Even as Charlie nodded, he had a small frown on his face. "But before you ask about it, I have no idea the name of the Seer. To be honest, I _still_ don't know the reason why I became a dragonologist and went all the way to Romania. I mean, sure I love dragons. However, I don't love dragons enough to…to…"

"Yes, yes, yes; we all know you love Nymphadora more," Moody cut in impatiently, earning a murderous glare from the Metamorphmagus. "So, there must be someone who convinced you that what you were doing was for the greater good."

 _(It's definitely_ him. _)_

"I suppose…" At this point, Charlie made a mission to avoid Tonks' eyes. He knew he would have to talk about it with her.

"Very well," Moody said, seemingly satisfied. "Tonks, come to my office tomorrow so I can give you the names myself. Can't trust _anyone_ at times like these. And I want you to work on it as soon as possible. We need to find the Seer before those scummy Death Eaters do."

"Will do, sir," Tonks said automatically, going on her Auror-mode.

"I'll have to go then. And oh, one more thing, Weasley; as of right now, you're an unofficial Auror. You work on this matter with Tonks and _only_ answer to myself, understand?"

 _Whoa._

"I…I understand, sir. But I haven't any proper Auror training."

"Kid, please," Moody scoffed, both his real and fake eyes rolled in exaggerated impatience. "You have gone on a secret mission, all on _your own,_ right after you finished school. Secret missions are only for full-time Auror with enough credentials to weigh them down into the bottom of the sea. The only people I know who are able to do so are those meddlesome brats Black and Lupin. You don't need training, Weasley. You should be _giving_ training to those idiots I taught. And if anyone doesn't agree with me, you tell me and I'll knock some sense into them. _Literally._ "

Charlie wasn't someone who blushed so easily. But hearing Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, the only Auror who was better than Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, complimented him like that, was enough to make him blush like a girl. All his life, Charlie was always compared to his brother Bill, who was probably the perfect epitome of _perfection._ Rebellious Charlie was the exact opposite of good-boy Bill. They were very close, true, but it didn't mean that Charlie felt inferior to his brother. To have someone like Moody to compliment him was probably a huge boost to his ego. Muttering some form of 'thank-you' because he was still too dumbstruck, Charlie joined the rest of his family to wave Moody goodbye as the Auror Disapparated.

"It's amazing how something so small is so powerful," Bill said as he eyed the Stone in Charlie's hand. "What's going to happen if someone tries to wield the power? Someone not strong enough."

"They will die," Charlie answered easily. "Burst like fireworks."

"Hush," Molly admonished. "You shouldn't talk about death like that… Now, Charlie; are you feeling better? Do you need anything? I can make you – "

"Actually, Mum, I feel like sleeping," Charlie interjected. "I think I'll head home."

"Oh, okay," the Weasley matriach said, looking a little interrupted. "Well, be careful, okay? You're still on the way to healing. Don't tire yourself too much."

"Yeah, Charlie. Don't _tire_ yourself too much," Bill said cheekily, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Charlie would have lunged across the room to punch his brother if he was able to walk properly again. Lucky for him, his mother had done the work for him and slapped the back of Bill's head, much to his older brother's chagrin.

" _Mum!"_ Bill exclaimed, pouting immaturely.

"Don't you 'Mum' me, William," Molly snapped, glaring at her son until he cowered in his seat. "Enough with the teasing."

"Please forgive my utterly _mature_ sons, Tonks," Arthur apologised jokingly with the Auror. Tonks merely grinned, reminded of the banter between Sirius and Remus she often witnessed growing up.

"It's perfectly fine, Arthur… But we _do_ have to go. Charlie has to take his meds soon."

" _Ugh,"_ the ( _former?_ ) dragonologist groaned. He looked like he was about to whine about it, but thought better when his girlfriend glared at him.

"Take care, okay?" Arthur said after everyone had said their goodbyes.

The couple promised so before Apparating to the cottage they'd been staying at for the past few months. It had been months since he was released from St Mungo's, and he was getting much better. He still got tired easily, and the occasional killer headache, but he tried not to let them bother him. The thing that _did_ bother him was how he still couldn't remember the time during his captivity. On the bright side, at least he _finally_ regained his memories regarding Tonks. It seemed, in his haste to delete the information about the Seer, he accidentally deleted memories of Tonks as well. It was one of his greatest regrets for being so careless, that he often found himself relieving his memories with Tonks, just to convince himself that _no, she really was here with him again_. When he first told her that he finally remembered everything, the beautiful Metamorphmagus _cried._ Charlie had known the woman for years, and he was aware that Tonks hated it when she cried. The only tears Tonks loved to make was happy tears. He was glad that after breaking her heart when he left her for Romania, he was now able to make her happy.

Living with Tonks was probably the happiest time of his life. They rarely argued, except for the all the times Charlie refused to take his medicine. Most of the time, the two spent their time making for up for their lost time. Tonks originally disliked the fact that she had to go into hiding as well. But when Sirius Black told them that someone needed to look after Charlie, Tonks readily agreed. At first, they were a little awkward about their living arrangement. But after sometime, they fell into a routine that made it as if they'd lived together for years. Charlie would always be the first one to wake up in the morning, and he would spend the next five minutes worshiping every inch of Tonks' skin with kisses until the Auror woke up. Then they would shower, more often than not they would do it _together_ , before they had breakfast. Tonks was a horrible cook, therefore it would be up to Charlie to make them something edible. But at least the woman was always eager to help, and as they prepared for their breakfast, they would steal kisses from each other. Truly, Charlie felt like he had never been happier.

"It's a good thing that your mother packed us something for dinner," Tonks said once they were settled in their room. They had just finished their dinner, all thanks to Molly. "I'd feel so guilty if I had to have you cook us something to eat."

"It's no big deal, really," Charlie said as he bustled around the room looking for his pajama pants. Tonks was all ready and set on their bed, having had her shower before him. "Cooking is something I actually _like_ doing. Bill has always been Dad's favourite because the two share their tinkering-habit. Mum and I would spend our time in the kitchen. Percy, quite surprisingly, preferred to join Bill and Dad. The two often teased me about it."

"Hmm…" Tonks hummed, sounding a little distracted. Turning around, Charlie saw that Tonks had long tuned out and was instead focusing on the various tattoos Charlie had on his shirtless back. The ginger couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him when the Metamorphmagus' eyes zeroed in on her name tattooed on his chest.

"Like what you see, love?" Charlie teased as he sauntered toward her. Smirking mischievously, she winked saucily at him before pulling him in for a kiss.

"Oh, I definitely _like_ what I see," Tonks said between kisses. "I love all your tattoos, really. Your Gryffindor tattoo is one my favourites too. But I have to say, I like the ones about _me._ The one I I like the most is this one; _Tonks' property._ And rather clever of you to have it tattooed on your chest, where your heart was."

"Well, you've always been a little bit possessive. Might as well declare it to the whole wide world that my _all of me_ belong to you."

The two laughed as they kissed for some more. Charlie had no idea how, but the next thing he knew, he'd ended up lying on the bed with Tonks on top of him. As the Auror smiles serenely at him, one hand on his chest where her favourite tattoo resided, while the other one was tangled in his hair, Charlie was convinced he was seeing the face of an angel. Call him sappy, but in his eyes, Tonks was the most beautiful human being he had ever known. For Charlie Weasley, there was only one woman worth paying attention to, and that was his beloved Nymphadora Tonks.

"If someone told me, a year ago, that I would spend my days fooling around with you at Sirius' _huge_ house, I'd send them to St Mungo's," Tonks said as she lowered herself to lie on Charlie's chest. "Living a domestic life has never been part of my plan."

"It never crossed my mind either," Charlie admitted. "Sure, I've always loved you, even then. But I've always pictured us as that couple who barely had enough time for each other because of work."

Tonks tilted her head up so she was looking right into Charlie's eyes. "Do you think if we weren't forced into hiding like this, we'd be this happy?"

"Of course. I'm always happy with you, Tonks. Wherever you are, no matter how little the time we have with each other, I'll be happy. You're my world. Even if we only have an hour each day, I'd make sure it'd be a great on hour."

"You're so cheesy." They shared another laughed. Resuming her position, Tonks sighed as she absentmindedly traced the patters on Charlie's chest. "Our living condition reminds me a lot of James and Lily Potter. And I can't help but to imagine, what if it was _us_? They were roughly around our age when they had to go into hiding because You-Know-Who was after their son."

"If it was us, and I was faced into the situation where I had to sacrifice myself to protect my wife and son, I _wouldn't_ even hesitate," Charlie said firmly without missing a beat. "Though, of course, I would have preferred the three of us to survive."

"I don't think I'll be able to live without you," Tonks admitted in a small voice. "Let alone continue to live on with a child that would always remind me of you."

"You have to, Tonks. I love my siblings and I trust them all. But I'd have preferred _you_ to raise our kid. I'm sure James Potter would agree."

"It's not going to be easy. Just as much as I am your world, Charlie, you are my _life._ I would live, sure, but I wouldn't exactly call it living. Honestly, I am amazed at how Marlene found the strength to wake up every morning and fought tooth and nail to find information on Sirius' whereabouts. I aspire to be someone that strong."

"You _are_ that strong. I know you and I have faith that you would be _stronger_ than Miss McKinnon." When Tonks didn't seem convinced, Charlie took her chin in his hand, and planted a kiss on her lips. "Tonks, you are the most remarkable woman I know. You'll do great things with or without me. But, I promised you that I wouldn't leave you again, right? And I'm going to keep that promise. So believe me when I say I would always try my best to come back to you. You won't have to worry about being alone because you will _never_ be alone. I'll always be with you."

This brought a wave of tears into Tonks eyes. She craned her neck so she could deepen the kiss, and Charlie was more than happy to comply. "I love you. I love you so _so_ much, Charlie Weasley."

"As I do, my love. Till I die. _Always_."


	27. THIRD YEAR: Chapter 6

Being a Pureblood, visiting Hogsmeade wasn't entirely new for Draco. He'd been there many times since he was small, mostly to visit Honeydukes because the blond Slytherin had a sweet tooth. Therefore, when he asked his parents to sign the permission letter, he wasn't as excited about it as most of his Hogwarts peers were. But with everything that happened – Sirius Black being captured by Death Eaters and Peter Pettigrew's escape from Azkaban – visiting Hogsmeade became something that he looked forward to. No doubt it would be a huge relief, after all of the stress he and everyone in Hogwarts were having. Blaise and Theo had told him countless times how they wanted to go to Shrieking Shack, seeing that they were older now and there would be no parents to tell them no. Draco would have agreed with them if he hadn't had other plans in his mind about how he wanted to spend his Hogsmeade visit.

Or rather, with _whom_ he wanted to spend his day going all around Hogsmeade.

But if he did ask _her,_ he would be declaring their not-so-secret friendship with everyone.

 _(And your infatuation too.)_

 _(Shut up, brain.)_

"Goodness, Draco; just ask her out already!" Theo exclaimed, shocking Draco out of his reverie. It was Saturday, an hour after dinner. They were in the common room, working on their DADA homework that Snape gave them, what with Lupin being sick. Draco had finished his the day before, during his free time, so he was there only to help his friends. He was absentmindingly tapping his fingers on the table when Theo practically yelled into his ear.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about, Nott?" the blond asked, swallowing heavily when Theo rolled his eyes. Beside the raven-haired, Blaise snorted into his homework, smirking.

"Ask Granger to go to Hogsmeade with you, you bloody idiot," his oldest friend drawled, causing Draco's pale complexion went paler. "We all can see that it's what you want."

"She's probably going with Potter and Weasley," Draco replied flatly, having accepted the fact that there was no point in denying what was obvious. "Besides, can you imagine the rumour?"

"I thought you no longer care about it," Blaise said, taking his eyes off the essay he was working on for the first time.

"That's true. It's not me I'm worrying about me. It's _her._ I mean, I'm used to people saying bad things about me behind my back. But her? I don't think so. She's just… _so pure._ "

Theo whistled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Merlin, you're _definitely_ smitten, my friend. If you ask me, you're hopeless. A total loss cause."

Hearing his friend's comment, Draco could only groan in frustration, burying his face in his hands. "I _know_ that, Nott. Thank you very much for pointing that out. But, I really have no idea – "

"And _that's_ why Blaise and I are going to help you."

"Wait, _what_?"

The next fifteen minutes happened a little blurry to Draco. One moment he was moping _(Malfoys do_ not _mope)_ about his dilemma, and then before he could fully comprehend it, his so-called friends had dragged him out of the Slytherin common room. He distincly remembered how his friends argued about where the Gryffindor common room was, and would have told them that _he_ knew where it was, if he wasn't so bloody nervous. Even when Blaise scared off a first year Gryffindor into taking them to Gryffindor Tower, Draco kept quiet the whole time. His heart skipped a bit when Theo told the little kid to _go get that bookworm Granger_. He had imagined on taking the girl to Hogsmeade many times, but he never thought he'd _actually_ do that for real. Draco didn't know whether he was to thank his friends or slap them in the face. When the portrait pulled opened, Draco felt himself stiffened up, all his feelings coiled up in a bunch of horrid mess. But it wasn't Grange – _Hermione,_ who stepped out from behind the portrait. It was the Head Boy Percy Weasley, and Gryffindor's Captain Oliver Wood. Draco once heard that the two made such an unlikely duo, being so different from one and another. Even he had seen the rare times the two were seen eating together in the Great Hall, quietly talking about Quidditch and assignments. But the way the tall ginger walked briskly away from the shorter Keeper, nearly trampling Draco and his friends if the younger boys didn't step out of the way, didn't look like they were friends.

"…I _told_ you; stay the hell away, Wood," Weasley hissed out when Wood reached out to grab him by the shoulder. His eyes, the trademark Weasley blue that he shared with all of his siblings except for the twins and his sister, burned as they glared at the hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, come on, Perce. Don't do this," Wood said impatiently, his stockier-build gave him the strength to pull Weasley back toward him forcefully. "I didn't mean anything. You know I… _respect_ what you want, even if I- I don't like it. But what happened last night – "

"What happened last night," the ginger cut off viciously, now glaring at the Keeper, the both of them were standing nose to nose by that point. " _never_ happened. So, I don't know what you're talking about, Wood. And _stop_ calling me Perce."

Wood looked like he was going to say something in return, but at that moment, the portrait was once again opened, and out came Hermione. Almost like something bit them, the older Gryffindors jumped away from each other. Glancing at Hermione, whose attention was set on Draco and his friends, their faces flushed red almost simultaneously. Only then did they seemed to realise that were _not_ alone the whole time. Draco thought he'd merely blinked once, but the next time he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see the two seventh-year had gone away; Wood was going down the staircase that led to the Quidditch pitch, while Weasley went back into the common room. Even though his nervousness came back full force with Hermione's arrival, he couldn't help but to eye Weasley's figure as he disappeared behind the portrait.

"They're always like that," the girl said, as if she was reading Draco's mind. "Pretty much like how Harry and Ron argued about practically everything. It's amusing at times, but lately they're getting worse. It's actually tiring to watch them arguing _every_ single day."

Draco knew that there was _so much_ more between Weasley and Wood, and he knew that for the first time ever, Hermione was too oblivious for her own good because she was _wrong._ But the insistent nudging from his friends prevented him from correcting her, and he focused his mind to make the words he'd planned to say many time in his lonesome, but never thought that he would actually say it to her.

"Grange- _Hermione_ ," Draco began, feeling bile rose up in his throat. Behind him, he was thankful when his friends took several steps backward in an act of giving him some privacy.

Pleasant surprise crossed Hermione's features when Draco corrected himself and used her given name, but she didn't miss a beat when she replied to him. "Yes, Draco?"

"Well, um… Next week we're going to Hogsmeade, you know?" the blond stuttered to his feet, feeling like slapping himself in the face at his own idiocy. He was lucky he didn't blush so easily because at that moment, Hermione chose to look between amused and, dare he said it, _cheeky._

"I am well aware of that, Draco. I have my permission, in case you're wondering."

"Good. That's…that's good."

"Hm."

Right then and there, upong hearing the way the bookworm hummed softly, Draco realised that she had _known_ what he wanted to say. It was obvious from the way she gave a little smile, and the way she bit her lip as if she was trying to stifle a giggle. Draco was sure he was blushing furiously now, and a part of him wished the ground would just open up and swallow him whole.

Looking up to look into her brown eyes, feeling both embarassed and frustrated, Draco said, "Granger, are you _seriously_ going to make me say _that_? I think you know what I'm saying already."

"Oh, I know that," the Gryffindor said, now beaming with a big grin that made her all the more prettier, which was _not fair_ in Draco's opinion because it made him a lousier _wimp_ – and Malfoys were _not_ wimp. "But I _do_ want to hear you say it, Draco. It's not every day you hear Draco Malfoy asking you – "

"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" Draco blurted out, rendering Hermione speechless. It seemed, although she insisted about it, she never thought that he'd _actually_ do it.

But she got over her shock rather quick, because she gave him the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen as she pulled him into a hug, and said, "Yes, Draco. I'll go with you."

For the next few days until the day for their Hogsmeade visit came, Draco felt like he couldn't stop smiling. Even when his friends relentlessly teased him about it, Draco merely rolled his eyes at them, but did nothing when usually, he'd probably slap them in the back of their insolent heads. Every time they were in the room together, Draco would automatically look for Hermione in the crowd, and when he found her, usually she'd smile that pretty smile of hers at him, Draco would wink at her as a sense of pleasant warmth filled him, ignoring the way Theo would share a laugh with Blaise behind him. During class, when Hermione was too busy paying her attention to their professor to notice the way he'd been staring at her, sometimes Pothead and Weaselbee would catch his eyes on their female companion. The two prats merely cocked an eye brow at him, to which he replied with a scowl, before they turned their attention back to their lesson, but not before flashing a smirk in his way. Draco could care less about them finding out because they knew about what he felt for their friend anyway. But when it was the day of the visit, only then did it occur to him that by going together to Hogsmeade, he might as well declare to the whole world about what he felt for her.

They met in the Great Hall, where other students were told to gather before they departed together to Hogsmeade. The moment everyone noticed how he quietly settled himself beside Hermione, all eyes immediately were set on the two of them. The Hall fel silent, and it was ironically defeaning. He swallowed thickly when he caught the way Snape stared at him standing by Hermione, remembering the story the Potion Master once told him about himself. He was caught off guard when he felt Hermione's small and dainty fingers slid between his own, holding his hand gently. It felt oddly fitting, they way their hands were entertwined. He looked down at their hands, then up to see the way she smiled reasurringly at him. He felt himself smiling as well, thought it quickly dropped the moment he caught how a few Slytherins, especially the older ones, sneered at him. Almost instantly, he felt a sense of protectiveness toward the Gryffindor whose hand he was holding. Pulling her closer toward him, he then glared at the towering Slytherins, the fact that they were older didn't deter him one bit because he knew _he_ was the one who held the power over the Slytherin House.

"What are you looking at, Flint? And wipe that stupid look off your face, Pucey, before I'll do it myself for you," Draco said loudly, his composure had adopted the intimidating stance others saw from Lucius Malfoy _and_ Sirius Black.

"Aren't you cocky, Malfoy," Marcus Flint drawled. "Don't forget your place, kid."

"Don't forget _your_ place yourself," Draco retorted, feeling the way everyone was staring at him. Beside him, Hermione was whispering things into his ear to just drop it.

But he wouldn't. Malfoys did _not_ back down so easily like that.

"Why, you prickly little blood tra – "

"I wouldn't finish that if I were you, Marcus," a voice said as he joined the conversation casually, as if they were all just talking about the weather. Though shorter and slimmer than his best friend was, Remus Lupin excuded the same power as he stepped in front of Draco and Hermione in a rather protective manner. "Calling someone that word is _highly_ prohibited here."

The Slytherin Captain looked like he was about to argue with the DADA professor, but Pucey wisely stopped him from doing so. Scowling at Lupin, the two Slytherins walked away toward Filch, who was checking every student's permission. Beside the old caretaker, McGonagall was sternly watching the whole banter. Meanwhile Lupin, turned toward Draco and Hermione, and behind him Draco could see Potter and Weasley was half-running toward them.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Potter asked, directing his question to Lupin though he was eyeing Draco and Hermione closely.

"Just a little trouble with some bigots; nothing to worry about," Lupin said calmly. He ruffled Potter's ever-messy hair, much to the boy's utmost annoyance. "How's everything been, Harry?"

"Everything's been fine. And Snape is a huge pain in the arse, as always," Potter answered, sighing dramatically with a level of childishness worthy of a six-year-old, _not_ thirteen.

"Language, Harry James Potter," Lupin chided, to which his Godson replied by sticking his tongue out. His flew momentarily toward the shortening line of students, then he said, "Well, you four best be going now. Have fun, okay?"

The four of them waved polited at Lupin's retreating figure. Wordlessly, Potter and Weasley nodded their heads at their friend, and to an extent at Draco as well, before going off to join Longbottom and the other Gryffindor boys in their year to a carriage pulled by an invisible force, after having given their slip to Filch. Draco almost forgot the fact that he was still holding Hermione's hand, until she pulled him toward Filch and McGonagall. The aging caretaker and their Transfiguration professor didn't even bat an eye as they gave their permission slip to Filch, who grunted some sort of approval to allow them to continue toward the carriage.

"I know I'm being cliché by saying this," Hermione said the moment the carriage moved. "But you really didn't have to do that, you know. I think we all know what would have happened when everyone finally figured it out. So, you don't have to…to…"

"To defend your honour?" Draco said flatly, earning an awkward nod from the girl. Shrugging, the blond continued. "Don't make a big deal over it, Granger. It's nothing, really. Besides, I didn't do it entirely to defend your honour. Part of me had always wanted to do that for a long time. Flint and Pucey are colossal prats."

The way Hermione rolled her eyes told Draco that she knew he was lying, and he couldn't help the grin that escaped him. But the girl didn't say anything to contradict him, thankfully. Instead, she casually leaned toward him as she tried to look at the window on his right, causing Draco's breath to hitch involuntarily in surprise. She didn't seem to realise it though. Her brown eyes set on the picturesque view she saw from the window, she said, "So, I think it's safe to say that you've been here many times before, right?"

"Yes, I have. Many times, actually."

"Well, where do you think we should go first? I've always wanted to visit Hogsmeade, from the moment I read about it in a book. It's the only all-wizarding village in Britain after all. But I guess you know that already, don't you? I heard that the founder was a Hufflepuff, which sort of fit, you know? I mean, it's such a Hufflepuff thing to do to provide a safe and secure settlement for those who might need it. It's one of their House qualities, I think, being nice. I know a few Hufflepuffs, and they are all so nice to me. I also want to go to Shrieking Shack. I read that it's the scariest…"

For most of the time, starting from the carriage ride and even as they wandered around the village, Hermione babbled on about her extensive knowledge over _everything._ Draco would give a comment here and there about stuffs that he knew, but mostly, he kept quiet to himself, which was _so_ unlike him. His friends often teased him how he liked to hear himself talking. But when he was with Hermione, he prefered to listen to her. There was something about the way she talked that he really found endearing. He would _never_ tell anyone about it, and would prefer to pitch himself off the Astronomy Tower, but Draco felt like the girl could talk his ear off till the end of the world, and Draco wouldn't mind one bit. Their journey didn't go as smoothly as he hoped though. Every now and then, people who knew them, would stare and point their rude fingers at them, whispering their stupid judgments over the fact that he, the son of the second oldest Pureblod family in Britain, was going to Hogsmeade with her, a Muggle-born whose very existence would probably make his ancesstors roll in their graves. But Draco didn't care about what people thought, as he followed the the smiling bookworm toward Three Broomsticks, who was walking backward as she taunted him to walk waster. As long as Hermione had no problem with him tailing after her like a lost puppy, Draco gave no damn to what people said about them. When he was with Hermione, it was one of the rare times he felt genuinely happy.

After all, he was just a kid, who unfortunately lived in a time of war.

But like any other kid, Draco knew he deserved happiness like everyone else.

* * *

Ron Weasley was a good person. That was the way his parents always raised him up to be. But like every other good person, he wasn't a _saint._ He too, was able to feel envy and jealousy. When Harry was chosen to be Gryffindor's Seeker, he tried his best to push the feeling aside because a good friend didn't feel such negativity. When Hermione proved herself to be the smartest time and time again, Ron merely smiled at her as he did all he could to keep up with not only Hermione, but with Harry as well whose laziness was the only reason on why he didn't score as high as their female friend did. But when he watched Hermione and _Malfoy_ together nearly all the time ever since they went together to Hogsmeade, always smiling in a way that he'd never seen before, Ron nearly couldn't stop himself from getting consumed with all the envy and jealousy and _rage_ that he felt. It was one thing losing to your best friend, but _to_ _lose_ your best friend to someone who until recently was your enemy, was something else entirely.

Then there was also the fact that Harry started to get closer and closer to Malfoy. The tall ginger felt like he was being replaced, and all he could do was to watch it happened as Malfoy filled the part that Ron used to have in their little trio. The thought kept him up at night, and one day, during a stormy night where thunders split the sky and rain fell down hard, Ron decided he just couldn't take it anymore. After he'd made sure that everyone in the room had fallen asleep, Ron slid down his bed as quiet as he could, and slipped out of the boys' dormitory before heading out toward the exit of the common room. He planned on going to the Astronomy Tower to calm his raging thoughts, where he knew Filch wouldn't go to. But when the portrait swung opened, he found that sitting on the foot of the portrait, was his sister with two other girls his age. The first one was that blonde Ravenclaw Luna Lovegood, and it took Ron awhile to recognise the last girl as the Slytherin girl he and Malfoy and Hermione had rescued some weeks prior, Astoria Greengrass. The three girls whipped around in his direction, looking like a deer caught in headlights for being out of bed at night. Raising his hands up to show that he didn't come to bother them, he stepped out of the common room.

"Hey, Gin," Ron greeted.

"Hey," his sister said in return. "What…what are you doing out here?"

"Might as well ask you the same thing, sis," he replied. He took awhile on debating with himself whether he should go to the Astronomy Tower or not. But for some reason, he opted for the opposite and took a seat beside his sister instead. "But I'm not going to ask you about it if you won't ask me as well."

Behind him, the Fat Lady muttered something about, "Insolent children who _just_ wouldn't sleep and always _have_ to come out wandering around in the middle of the night." Ron and girls ignored her though, knowing that the Fat Lady had a bad habit of grumbling about the kids from her house.

"Okay…" There was a long pause before the girl spoke again. "Well, I think I'll have to introduce you to my friends, I suppose."

"If that's alright with you."

"This is Luna Lovegood, and that one is Astoria Greengrass. But they both told me that you three have met before."

"I wasn't a really good time though. But yeah, I suppose you're right; we have met… How have you been, you two?" Ron remembered that the last time he saw the girls, they left rather abruptly. A shaken Astoria was being whisked away by Hermione to breakfast while Luna, after having a fit, had ran off to as if she on fire.

"We're doing fine, Mr Weasley. And I personally thank you for your help," the Slytherin answered in a small voice, her big blue eyes looked almost purple under the dim light.

"Call me Ron, please. I know that's probably against your uptight Pureblood up-bringing, but I prefer if you call me something other than the way McGonagall does whenever she catches me sleeping during her class."

The girls shared a small giggle, which prompted Ron to grin. He felt his sister snuggled closer toward him, and almost automatically, he wrapped an arm around the younger girl. Out of the seven of them, he and Ginny were always the closest. Bill was with Charlie, Percy was the odd duck, and there was no questions about Fred and George since they were twins, so that left Ron with Ginny. The fact that they were the closest in age also added to the reason why they got along so well. But Ginny was _so bright,_ she was so much smarter than Ron could ever be. Sometimes, he felt like he losing _her_ too, whenever he saw how she had googly eyes on Harry, and how she looked up to Hermione. Oh, Ron knew for a long time that Ginny's crush on Harry was so much more than a simple child's infatuation. But he kept a blind eye toward it, because he knew if he encouraged her, he would lose her, and yet the opposite would cause him the same result as well.

"I haven't returned your robe," Astoria said, catching him off guard.

"I beg you pardon?" Ron said, frowning a bit. This prompted an adorable blush on the Slytherin's pale face as she bowed her head down.

"Your robe. You gave it to me when you and Draco and Miss Granger helped me that day. I still have it with me," the girl answered shyly.

"Oh. I totally forgot about that," Ron admitted. He thought the Elves merely had lost it, and because he knew both Hermione and Harry had a soft spot toward the helpful creatures, he decided it wouldn't be wise if he blurted it out in front of them, for fear they would think he was blaming it on the Elves. Shrugging, the third-year said, "Well, you can always give it to Malfoy. Tell him to give it to 'Mione so she could give it to me."

"Draco would hate that," Luna quipped. "I am under the impression that he dislikes anything that has something to do with Ron."

"The git and I aren't exactly close. I'm an all-around nice person while he is…well, he's a git." The four of them shared another laugh. Turning to his sister, Ron said, "How did you three become friends? I mean, you three are like the most unlikely people to be friends. The fact that you all come from different Houses is self-explanatory alone."

"Luna and I have been friends since last year," Ginny explained, flashing a smile toward the blonde. "I was alone in an empty compartment that Fred and George dropped me in, while Hermione had gone off looking for you and Harry. I think she ended up sitting with Neville… Anyway, when I was sitting there all alone, Luna came in with Cedric Diggory. Long story short, we became friends. She lives not far from us, remember."

Ron nodded his head in acknowledgment. "And with Greengrass? Or shall I call you Astoria?"

"You can call me Astoria," the girl answered, nodding her head. "Or Tori. That's what Ginny and Luna call me. And my sister too."

"Okay," Ron said with a smile. "So, how did you two become friends? You two come from the two Houses who have so much bad blood between them."

"I introduced the both of them," Luna answered instead. "I just had a class with Astoria, and it was lunch time. I saw Ginny sitting by the Lake and I thought I'd introduce my old friend to my new friend. The three of us just got along every since."

"That so very weird," Ron commented. Upon seeing the reaction on the girls' faces, he quickly amended himself. "In a good, I mean. Very weird in a _really_ good way."

"That's what Cedric said when I told him," the Ravenclaw said wistfully. "Personally, I didn't see anything weird, except for the fact they wanted to become my friends."

 _Tick-tick…_

"Why wouldn't we want to be your friends, Luna?" Ginny said, patting the blonde's knee.

 _Tick-tick…_

"Because I've been told I'm a freak." The way Luna said the word so casually made Ron worried. He thought he'd have to talk about it to an adult. Probably to Professor McGonagall, so she could tell Flitwick, who was Ravenclaw's Head of the House. But at that moment, his ears had caught something. It was faint, but he could still hear it.

 _Tap…_

"I don't mind being friends with a freak," Astoria said, reaching for Luna's hand with a smile on her face. "As long as you're nice to me, I think you should be friends with everyone."

 _Tick-tick…_

"Yeah," Ginny agreed. "I think this whole thing about House rivalry is – "

 _Tap…_

 _"Sshh!"_ Ron hushed his sister sharply, pulling out his wand from his pocket. Looking at the _wet_ spot on the staircase, just a few steps away from where he and the girls was sitting. It looked like there was someone invisible was standing there, dripping wet and was heading toward _them._

 _Tick-tick… Tick-tick…_

 _Tap…_

"Ron?" Ginny whispered, scooting closer toward her brother. From the corner of his eye, Ron saw the two girls had scooted closer toward Ginny as well. "Ron? Ronald, what's happening?"

"There's someone there," Ron said stiffly in small voice, pointing his wand at the wet spot that was now closer than it was a few seconds ago. He knew the girls were frightened, and he himself was just as scared. But he tried his best to keep it at bay. "Someone under a Dillusionment Charm."

 _Tick-tick…_

 _Tap.._

 _Tap…_

 _Tick-tick… Tap… Tap… Tap… Tick-tick…_

"It's coming closer," Ron said, unable to keep the fear and panic from his voice any longer, which caused the girls to whimper as they went to hide behind him. "It's _him._ It's got to be him."

There was a low chuckle, the sound caused Ron's heart to beat faster. When the sound started to talk, it sounded so close. "Smart boy… Very, very, smart…"

"Fat Lady, alarm the profe – "

"NO!"

 _"Ronald!"_

The next thing that happened was faster than what Ron's brain could possibly comprehend. He was about to shoot the Disarming Charm toward the voice when he felt hands around his neck. He heard the girls and the Fat Lady all screamed in fear as he fell on his back, trying to fight off the invisible weight sitting on top of him, chocking him to death. Raising one leg, he kicked his attacker's back viciously, which caused the hold to loosen as a pained groan came. Using the opportunity, Ron pushed the invisible man off him and scrambled toward the girls, using his body to shield them as they quickly went into the common room, noticing how the Fat Lady was gone from her usual spot, no doubt to warn the professors. His heart skipped a beat when he saw how his wand was kicked aside. The voice was now muttering curses under his breath, and Ron noticed how he flickered into existence like that Muggle contraption the telly when it was enduring bad signal. Growling in rage, Ron heard the voice was about to jump him, and all Ron could do was scream in fear, when the portrait behind him slammed opened, revealing his best mate standing there, wand at the ready.

And he looked positively _enraged_.

" _Expelliarmus!"_ Harry yelled, and Ron only had a split second to duck before the powerful force of the spell flew right past his head. Unfortunately, the flickering figure jumped out of the way, and the spell landed on the wall behind him.

 _"You missed, Harry!"_ the figure cackled madly, as he once again disappeared from view before he quickly descended the staircase to run away.

"Get back here, Pettigrew!" Harry roared, the voice he made was absolutely foreign in Ron's ears, who was so used to hearing best friend all cheerful. "Get back here and tell me where's my Godfather! _Get back here, you rat!_ "

Harry blindly shot spell after spell, but Ron could see that Pettigrew had long gone. By the time the professors came, Harry was sitting weakly at the foot of the portrait, and Ron was awkwardly hugging his best friend to calm him down. He distinctly noticed that his older brother Percy was both fussing over Ginny and trying to keep all the other students in control. Luna and Astoria stood awkwardly with Hermione, who looked just as shocked and frightened as they were. Remus was running ahead the other professors, his scarred-face pale as he went toward his Godson. Ron quickly let Harry go so Remus could take over. The next one he saw was McGonagall, who looked just as pale as the Auror-slash-professor. Her eyes immediately settled on Harry, who was being smothered by Remus, face buried in his Godfather's chest. When Dumbledore came into view, Ron felt a huge sense of relief because he knew if Dumbledore was there, at least things would be better. But when the wise wizard's penetrating blue eyes landed on him knowingly, Ron couldn't help but to feel a little nervous.

"Mr Weasley," the Headmaster said in his trademark calm voice. "Can you tell us what happened? The Fat Lady merely said that Peter Pettigrew was sighted in front of her common room, and was attacking a student."

Ron was a in a huge dilemma. If he told the actual truth to Dumbledore, he and the girls would be in detention for being out of bed so late at night, especially Luna and Astoria, who ventured all the way from their respective common rooms to Gryffindor Tower. Swallowing thickly, the tall ginger managed his words carefully before he started to speak. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to…to lounge in the common room a bit, until I felt a little sleep, at least. I saw my sister Ginny was already there though, working on…working on her homework. We talked for a little bit, until…until…"

"Until they heard me and Astoria outside of the common room," Luna piped in, surprising even Ron and her friends. "I sleep-walk, you see. That's why I wear my shoes to bed. So, I sleep-walked to the dungeon, and ended up lying in front of the entrance to Slytherin's common room."

"Where I'd been sitting out there for the past few hours b-because…I got locked out," Astoria added, her face flushing red when Snape's eyes landed sharply on her. "I woke Luna up, who calmly asked me whether she sleep-walked all the way to the dungeon. I said yes, and the she asked me why was I out there. When I told her what happened, she offered to snuck me into Ravenclaw Tower, and she promised that she'd accompany in the common room until morning came so I could return back to the dungeon before the rest of the Ravenclaws came."

"Unfortunately, on the way to there, the staircase changed and directed them here," Ginny butted in. "My brother and I heard them out there, and we quickly went out to check. We're friends, you see; me, Luna and Astoria. So, I told them that they could stay here, in Gryffindor Tower, when Ron heard someone coming."

"Yeah," Ron said in the affirmative, relieved that the girls helped him with the story because if he was to be honest, his imagination wasn't really that great. He was just tired, and his brain felt like they were dead. "I heard footsteps, and water-dripping too. I saw wet spot right over there. I couldn't see him because I think he got the Dillusionment Charm on him. I was just about to tell the Fat Lady to tell the professors, when Pettigew jumped on me."

" _I don't want to stay here!"_ the Fat Lady's shrilly voice screamed, tears running down her rounded face profusely. "My safety was threatened! I nearly have a student _died_ in front of me!"

"We'll talk about moving you later, my lady," Dumbledore replied calmly, but his attention was still set on Ron. The way the old man stared at him made Ron worried whether he knew that he and the girls had lied to him. But even if Dumbledore knew, which he _definitely_ did, didn't seem to care about it. "Are you sure that it's Pettigrew, Mr Weasley?"

"Oh, that's him, alright," Harry said before Ron could, looking up from Remus' shoulder. "Before he put on the Charm again, I saw his face flickered once. I would know that traitorous face anywhere, professor. _That_ is Peter Pettigrew."

"Dear Merlin," McGonagall whispered, her hands trembling a little bit. "How could he go pass the Dementors unnoticed? Cross that; how could _nobody_ notice him coming?"

"That's because he's an Animagus," Remus said in a small voice. As he turned around to look at the rest of the professors, the same people who had taught him all those years ago, Ron thought the man looked nervous, like a child who knew he was about to get chastised for stealing candy.

"Remus," Harry said, sounding alarm. But his Godfather shook his head.

"No, Harry. We can't keep this a secret anymore, when it's obviously nearly cost someone's life. Your _best friend's_ life, might I add."

"What do you mean, Remus?" Flitwick said.

"I'm saying _exactly_ what you all are thinking about," Remus said quietly.

"You mean – "

"Yes. Peter Pettigrew _is_ an Animagus, and he takes the form of a rat. Rather fitting, don't you think? A rat has always been a symbol of treachery and cowardice after all."

"And what about Mr Potter and Mr Black?" McGonagall asked, tilting her head to the side. When Remus didn't answer, the witch shrugged as if she'd known all along. But if there was something that Ron knew about his Head of the House, he was sure that McGonagall maybe did know about it.

"They did it for _you_ , didn't they?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes glinted knowingly. At this, Remus clenched his jaw as he gave a stiff nod.

"But becoming an Animagus is _very_ dangerous!" Sprout exclaimed, looking both scandalised and amazed. "They must be so young back then. Maybe around sixteen or seventeen."

"Try fifteen," Remus said. Ron noticed, even though he still looked a little tense, he also looked proud about his best friends achievement.

"Very well," Dumbledore concluded. "We'll have the kids all to sleep in the Great Hall. That way, we can watch them properly. And Remus, after you contact the Aurors to do a little sweeping around the castle, there's something I must talk to you about."

"Of course, professor," Remus said obediently. Giving Harry one last hug that lasted rather long, the man then walked away.

The remaining professors did their assigned jobs wordlessly without being told by Dumbledore, who had gone not long after Remus. The Heads of the Houses went to get their children from their respectives dormitory while the rest of the professors went to prepare the Great Hall for the children to sleep in. About an hour later, Ron found himself squished between Harry and Neville, the former was no doubt wide awake thinking about what just happened while the latter was thankfully fast asleep. It was probably around two hours later when the ginger felt his best friend fell asleep, his breathing even out. Ron had no idea when he exactly did he fall asleep himself, but he knew it wasn't long after Harry. When sleep claimed him, he found himself having a nightmare right away.

And it wasn't pretty.

* * *

 **NOTES:** Yes, yes, yes; I know the time order is probably a little messed up. But my sister borrowed my PoA book, and she's been staying at her friend's house for a few days now. So, forgive me about that. And um, tell me what you think about the story so far, okay? I'm so glad that so many of you followed/favourited the story, by the way. But I'd really love to know what you think about the story. Especially about this chapter to be honest, this was one of the most difficult chapter to write. Anyway, thanks for reading, guys! I really hope you guys like it :)


	28. THIRD YEAR: Chapter 7

Harry had never cared about Valentine's Day before. For him, it was the day when his Godparents would lock themselves in their rooms doing grown-up things until lunch time, leaving Harry to deal with himself as he sulkily ate breakfast with the House Elves. He never expected to receive a Valentine gift, hence why Ginny's card last year was a total surprise to him. This year, he wasn't expecting anything different. He was a little surprised though, he when he saw Hermione traded gifts with Malfoy, and when he saw Ron receiving a mysterious love-letter. But nothing beat _this._

He was barely listening when the twins practically talked his ear off. He found himself still having a hard time trying to convince himself that what he was holding in his hands was _real._ The whole time Fred and George talked, he kind of tuned them out, his eyes set firmly on the object in his hands. His whole life, he spent it listening to his Godfathers talking about _the_ Marauders' Map and how it had helped them through all kinds of mischief. He remembered the story about how Filch confiscated the Map from his father during detention. He felt his chest ached with both joy and pain; joy because he finally had the object that his father and Godfathers were very proud of, and pain because having the Map reminded him how he lost his father and how Sirius was still missing. By the time Fred pointed his wand on the Map to deactivate it, Harry noticed tears were threatening to roll down his face.

"…remember to do that. Pretty cool, right? And if anyone tries to look through the Map without saying the right words, the Map would just – _George, why is he crying?_ "

The taller twin blinked as he averted his gaze from grinning at his brother to eyeing Harry in concern. "Huh. Well, um… I don't… Harry, mate, did we – "

When Harry practically jumped to hug the towering twins, he was sure that he probably traumatised the pranksters. Letting them go, Harry let out a small laugh as he wiped his tears. "You guys have _no idea_ how happy I am at the moment. Do you _know_ what this is?"

"It's a…map that shows everything about Hogwarts?" Fred said, his tone a little uncertain. He looked positively scared when Harry laughed again, sharing a look with his his twin.

"Fred, I think we broke the kid," George whispered, to which Fred agreed with a nod of his head. But Harry was past caring.

Pocketing the Map, he beckoned the twins to follow him. "Come on, guys. We need to see Remus. He'll be _so glad_ to see this."

"Wait, _what?_ " George yelped. "You're going to show _that_ to Lupin?"

"Who, might I add, is a _professor,_ " Fred butted in.

"We get that his your Godfather – "

"And that he's probably the _best_ professor ever – "

" – though we can't let McGonagall know that – "

" – lest she'll throw our arses in detention – "

" – but it doesn't change that fact that your Godfather – "

" – is a _bloody professor!"_

For the third time, Harry laughed. Ignoring the horrified looks on the twins' face, he said, "Just come with me. Today's going to be the best day of your lives. I _promise._ "

Harry didn't wait to see whether the twins did follow him or decide that he was a nut, because if he knew something about the Weasleys, it was that they were a very and curious bunch. After the whole thing with Pettigrew, Harry thought that he got little chance to be this happy again. Not to mention, Dementors had been very attracted to him, and it was really getting to him. When he fell off his broom after being attacked by a Dementor, Remus decided that he had to teach Harry the Patronus Charm. So far, the green-eyed boy had managed to do so, with the help of a Boggart-Dementor, and he was actually pretty confident to fight off a real Dementor. But of course, Remus wouldn't agree. Harry would probably argue the werewolf about it, but after everything that had happened, he would hate to upset Remus. His last remaining Godfather seemed rather tense lately. His Aurors still failed to find Pettigrew, and then there was also the fact that Dorcas was due to give birth any day. However, with the Map in his pocket, Harry knew that this would lift Remus' spirits up.

"Remus! Remus, wake up!" Harry called as he ran into Remus' office. "Remus, I've something to show you!"

A part of him felt bad for waking up his Godfather like that, seeing that it was only seven in the morning on a _Sunday,_ and just several days ago, Remus just went through his transformation. But the selfish child in him, the part that wanted to share his happiness with Remus even though he was being a little _too much,_ couldn't help himself. Behind him, the twins looked like they were debating on whether they should just leave or not before Remus showed up. It was too late though, seeing that the door to Remus' private chamber slammed opened, revealing a disheleved Remus who looked like he was ready to fight off Death Eaters even with pajamas on. His features softened when his yellow-green eyes landed on Harry, who was beaming up at him brighter than Christmas lights.

"Harry," the Auror-slash-professor said slowly, stuffing his wand back in his pocket. "What are you… Is there anything wrong?"

"Quite the opposite, really," Harry said. "Fred and George just gave me something that I think you'll be interested in seeing."

"We just found it though, professor," Fred quickly said.

"Yeah. We don't know what it really is. Honest," George added.

Remus eyed the twins closely, obviously knowing that the two were lying. He looked like he was about to say something when he froze, his eyes set on the piece of parchment in Harry's hand. As he reached out to take the Map, Harry watched in fascination as the Auror, who was always steady and firm and _calm_ , was now shaking in barely repressed emotion as he stared at the Map he just took from his Godson. Everything was silent as Harry and the twins watched Remus slowly pulled out his wand, sucking his breath harshly as tears brimmed in his eyes. When the older wizard pointed his wand at the Map, Harry noted with a grin at the way the twins gasped, probably assuming the worst.

"Professor – "

 _"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good,"_ Remus whispered, his eyes never leaving the parchment as dots and lines began to form shapes of Hogwarts' classrooms and halls everything about it.

"Merlin's beard…" George muttered, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Professor, how did you – I mean, it took us _a year_ to figure that out," Fred said.

When Remus finally took his eyes off the Map, he had the same grin that was on Harry's face. "You see, boys; I was Moony. I _am_ Moony. One-fourth of the the Marauders; purveyors of aids to magical mischief-makers."

The look on the twins' faces were hilarious, Harry wished he had Colin Creevey to capture the moment. When Fred let out a strange squeak, Harry couldn't help himself when he burst into a fit of girlish giggles.

" _You're Moony?"_ George practically yelled while his twin beside him was still having a problem to articulate his surprise.

"I am," Remus said, still grinning. "Harry's rather fond of the name, really. I think that's why he sometimes calls me Moomy and Sirius Dadfoot. We _do_ act like old married-couple, I suppose."

"Hang on," Fred said, finally finding the ability to talk instead of squeaking. "Are you saying that you _and_ Sirius Black are part of the Marauders? That the whole time, two of the greatest Aurors in Europe, are Moony and Padfoot, and we _didn't_ know about it?"

"True."

Glancing at Harry, who was still grinning as well, the shorter twin said, "Please don't tell me that Harry's father is a Marauders as well."

"Then we won't," Harry quipped, sharing a smirk with Remus.

"You're joking!" Fred said, though his tone showed that he knew better.

"Why would I be joking about this?" Harry said, tilting his head to the side that reminded Remus of all the times James tried to be serious.

"I think I'm going to faint," George declared, taking a seat on a nearby chair. "This is too much for my heart to handle."

Chuckling, Remus took a seat across the shocked twin. "I was actually the one who came up with the idea to make a map of Hogwarts that would show all of Hogwarts. I told them that since we were going to basically wreck havoc everywhere, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to have a map that not only would it show every classroom, every hallway, and every corner of the castle, but it also shows every inch of the grounds, as well as all the secret passages that are hidden within its walls and the location of every person in the grounds. James was the one who was the most excited about the idea. It was his idea to make the Map extremely accurate in identifying each person, and is not fooled by Animagi, Polyjuice Potions, or invisibility cloaks, and even the Hogwarts ghosts. But it was Sirius though, was the one who ended up finishing most of the work. We started making the Map in third year, and finished it sometime in fifth."

"And as you know, if the bearer of the Map approaches the entrance to a secret passage protected by a password, the password will appear on the Map, right?" Harry said, to which the twins could only reply with an awkward nod of their heads. "That's Remus' idea, because under that whole good-guy persona, Remy is just as much of a Marauder as Sirius and my father. He was also the one who did most of the drawing."

"When you said 'wreck havoc'," George began slowly. "Are you saying that you and Auror Black and Harry's father were pranksters?"

"The very best," Remus answered proudly.

"But you two are _Aurors!_ " Fred exlaimed, looking scandalised. "Not to mention, _you_ are a professor! A prankster is like, the total opposite of what you do."

"That's exactly what I told him," Harry laughed. "I can only imagine the look on Sirius' and my father's faces if they knew."

"Wow," Fred whistled, looking at Remus in complete respect and adoration one would to a _God._ "Do you have any idea how much my brother and I look up to you? Even through the Map? You guys taught us more than all of the teachers ever did."

"Thank you," the older wizard said, grinning earnestly in a way that only his family ever saw.

"Wait a moment," George said, looking through the Map then back to Remus. "There are _four_ members of the Marauders, right? You are Moony, Auror Black is Padfoot, and I think Harry's father is Prongs because now that I can think properly, I distinctly remember Harry was called Prongslet by you and Auror Black. So, who's the fourth Marauder? Who's Wormtail?"

Almost immediately, the happiness that surrounded the room was wiped out. Harry stiffened as his mood gone somber, and he noticed how Remus clenched his jaw. It took awhile for the DADA professor to answer George's question. An almost feral-look crossed Remus' features, and judging from the way the twins flinched, Harry realised that he wasn't the only who noticed it.

"It's Peter Pettigrew," Remus answered stiffly, his voice had taken a cold tone.

"You mean the same person who tried to kill our brother?" George asked, frowning at the memory. When the twins and Percy learned what exactly happened that night, they'd become nearly over-protective toward their youngest brother. Ron, who rarely received so much attention from his brothers, found it both pleasing and annoying.

"Yes. That Pettigrew," Harry said when Remus looked like he was having trouble to control his emotions. It was obvious that he still hated the fact that Pettigrew managed to escape his watch.

"The Map," Fred suddenly blurted out, his brown eyes went toward the parchment. "You can use the Map to find Pettigrew. You said that nothing can fool it, right? And he doesn't know that you have the Map, judging from your story."

"He's right, Remus," Harry said, turning to face his Godfather, whose eyes were wide now. "Even if he's not on the Map, we can then assume that he's somewhere in Hogsmeade. And anytime he tries to enter the castle again, we'll know."

In an instant, as if there was a switch, Remus shrugged off the persona of a professor and slipped right into Auror-mode. Grabbing the Map closer toward him, his yellow-green eyes quickly scanned over the Map, determination flashed in those eyes. Harry felt his heart beat madly in his chest in anticipation. They were so close. He knew it. He knew Remus would find Pettigrew now. He could just tell. There was no stopping –

"Professor, someone's coming through your fireplace!" George said, nodding his head toward the green flames. For a split second, Harry was expecting for it to be _Pettigrew._ But he quickly remembered that Remus probably put thousands of spells that would prevent anyone like Pettigrew from crossing.

He was right. Not even a second later, Regulus Black stumbled out of the fireplace.

"Lupin, it's Marlene!" the younger Black brother said. "She's going to give birth now, but she _won't_ do it. She insists on waiting for my brother. You need to talk some sense to that stubborn woman or else she's going to kill herself and – _Harry no!_ "

Harry didn't even realise when he'd jumped into the fireplace.

* * *

 _"Push, Marlene! Push!"_

 _"_ No! _I'm not doing this without Sirius!"_

 _"Marlene, please. You can't – we have no idea when he's coming back. But your baby – "_

 _"I can't do this without him. I can't do this. I know it's wrong but…I need him."_

 _"You have, Marlene. You have to push. Do it for the baby. Do it for Sirius. Do it for_ me."

" _But – "_

 _"Marlene, if you really do love me like I-I'm your own, please. Do…do it for my_ brother. _"_

Two hours later, Hunter John Black was born, perfect and healthy the way all mothers would always wish for. He weighted around nine pounds and was about twenty-three inches long. Just like his older sister, Hunter was a beautiful baby. He looked a lot like his sister, with their eyes being the only difference. Little Hunter had their mother's eyes whereas his sister had their father's. The first person to hold the baby was not his mother, but it was actually his honorary-brother _Harry_ who readily accepted the baby from his Godmother's hand. Carefully cradling the baby in his arms, Marlene noticed that her Godson had tears in his eyes as he kissed the baby's head as gently as he could.

"Hunter," Harry said without looking up from his little 'brother'. "So he can hunt all the men who have made the sorry mistake to capture his father. And John from John Lennon because we all know Sirius would have wanted that."

Marlene could only smile as she nodded her head, too overwhelmed with emotion to be able to talk. She opened up her arms, wordlessly asking Harry to pass Hunter to her. The moment she had her hands on her son, Hunter opened his eyes for her, as if he knew that she was his mother. The witch felt like crying her eyes out because right at that moment, even when he had her eyes not Sirius' grey ones, Hunter looked so much like his father. She pulled her son closer to her, raining soft kisses all over his face. Marlene had never hated her life before, but as she hugged her son, feeling Harry's hand stroking her shoulder gently, the Pureblood witch felt like life had been so unfair to her and her family. The first time she had a baby, she nearly _died._ Now her son was born without his father around to see it. She wondered what did she do wrong in her life to deserve such a horrible fate. She tried to put on a brave face though, when her friends came in to visit her and the baby. She gave them fake smiles, nodded her head at the right moment whenever they said something. But when they left, leaving her alone with her thoughts, Marlene no longer could stop herself from crying.

"Marlene, please don't cry," Harry whispered. She was too wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't even realise her Godson was in the room and had reached over to wipe her tears away. "Everything's going to be alright, Mar. You'll see. Sirius _will_ come back."

"But when?" Marlene cried, feeling a little embarrassed for acting like a child, completely ignoring the fact that Harry should be at school and _not_ there in St Mungo's with her. "It's almost been a year, Harry. Just when we thought we found him, he just had to run away from without trace. With all of those Death Eaters out there, how are we going to find him?"

"We won't find him because _he_ is going to come back to us. We know Sirius. Nothing can stop him from doing what he wants. No matter how badly hurt he is, I believe he'll be back to us."

Marlene bit her lip. She knew that Harry was right. If there was one thing that she knew about her stubborn fiance – and Marlene knew _a lot_ of things – it would be the fact that Sirius wasn't the type to give up. She knew that he would try his best to come back to her and his family, but it didn't mean that fate wouldn't intervene. Marlene couldn't help herself when she was brought back to the memory of her promise to Sirius all those years ago, back when she nearly died when Death Eaters killed her whole family.

"Has he ever told you about the day he proposed to me?" she said in a small voice. The question seemed to catch the boy off his guard, though he recovered rather quick.

"He did. It wasn't… I don't think it was something that he looked back to with fondness. I mean, you nearly _died,_ didn't you?"

The witch nodded her head. "In all the years I knew him though, _I_ was the one who nearly lost him countless times in the past. Your Godfather… He always runs head first into danger without minding the high risk of death. But honestly, I never thought that one day, he'd _really_ be gone, for real."

"Marlene, he's not dead yet," Harry countered in a small voice. "If he'd died, we'd know. Regulus' necklace would tell us about it."

"True. That is true. But since the day he became an Auror, I always feel like I'm counting down the days for the inevitable to come. After all, I did make him a promise."

Her words piqued Harry's attention. "A promise? What are you talking about, Marlene? What did you promise him?"

Swallowing hard, Marlene tuck a lose strand of her hair behind her ear, glancing at the plastic-ring that hung on her charm-bracelet. "He didn't tell you that I _did_ die, right? I died for _eight minutes,_ Harry. For eight minutes, I stopped breathing. For eight minutes, my heart stopped beating. For eight minutes, I left Sirius alone in this world."

"I… I didn't know that," Harry whispered, paling slightly.

"Sirius' biggest fear is to be left alone. He's always scared that he'd be the last one left behind. And when I 'died', it probably was a nightmare to him. Your Godfather had never looked so scared as the time when I opened my eyes after my short-timed death. It was just a few weeks after we learned of Regulus' supposed death, and the thought that he lost me must have scared him witless. So, when I finally woke up, he made me promised him that I…that I had to let him go first."

"You mean…" Harry paused, taking a deep breath. "You promised him that you wouldn't die first. Am I getting that right?" Marlene nodded her head in the affirmative. "But what if you, Merlin forbid, died of cancer or some kind of serious illness like that? What if the unthinkable happened? Surely you told him 'as far as I can manage', right?"

Marlene blinked, the gravity of Harry's words just hit her for the first time since the time she made her promise two decades ago. Slowly shaking her head, Marlene spoke again. "To be honest, it never occurred to me just how ridiculous it was to promise him such a thing. I mean, he was _so devastated,_ Harry. You didn't see how he was. All I had in mind was how broken Sirius was, and how I should bring back that cheeky smile he was notorious for back to his face. Thus, I made him that promise. He needed the promise, so I gave it to him."

When tears began to fall from Harry's eyes, it was Marlene's turn to stare. The roles were reversed as Marlene reached to wipe Harry's tears with one hand while the other hand wrapped around the boy's neck, prompting him to bury his face on the crook of her neck. Even muffled, Marlene could still hear the boys' words though when he spoke.

"Oh, Marlene… Mar, I am _so sorry._ I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I am sorry," the boy cried.

"Harry, whatever are you sorry for, kid? Hey, look at me. Harry, _please._ "

"I can only imagine how _painful_ it must be for you to be away from Sirius, to constantly for about him. Merlin, if it were up to me, I'd bring him back myself _and_ I'd kill all those Death Eaters who dared to take him from you."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This boy, whose parents were taken from him even before he could really remember them, was feeling _sorry_ for her because she was missing her lover, who happened to be a father figure to him. If Marlene could wish for one thing right then and there, she found herself not wishing for Sirius' return. She would wish that her Godson would _never_ feel sorrow anymore. She would wish a lifetime of happiness for him because Harry deserved that. The kid deserved _more_ than that. So Marlene pulled Harry up on her bed, hugging her close to her chest as if he was still her little baby boy whom she fought tooth and nail for the right of his custody when Dumbledore insisted that he lived away from all the fame. At that moment, she felt like she was twenty-one again, hugging her little Harry who was only a year old and was crying for his parents who would never come back for him.

Because Sirius was right. No matter how many children she and her fiance had in the future, Harry would _always_ matter. Even though he wasn't hers by blood, he still was her _son._

* * *

 **NOTES:** I'm aware of the mistakes, yes. But it's around 2AM right now and I am sooo tired right now. I'll come back again later to fix the mistakes, I promise. In the meantime, tell me what you think of the story so far, okay? Till next chapter! :)


	29. THIRD YEAR: Chapter 8

**NOTES:** Hello! This chapter is the longest one I've written for this story so far. And forget whatever I said about other chapters being the toughest to write. _This_ monster here is by far, the _most_ difficult chapter to write. God, I couldn't even bring myself to proof-read because... Well, you'll just have to read it, I guess. Anyway, for those of you who keep on pestering me about my awful grammar - _I know, I know._ But I haven't found a decent beta yet. I mean, one that is committed or whatever. So, unless you really have the solution, you guys better stop flaming me about it because I'm going to ignore you from now on. Right, that's all. I'd really love it if you tell me what do you think about this chapter. It's one of my favourite so far :) Happy reading!

* * *

They won. They won the Cup.

Merlin, it had been _years_ since the last time Gryffindor won Quidditch.

Percy still remembered the last time they won, back when his brother Charlie still played for Gryffindor and won the last House Cup. Despite what others believed of him, Percy was very fond of Quidditch. He really hoped that in his last year, he'd see the Cup in Gryffindor's hand once again. That was probably why he didn't make so much fuss when the twins brought tons of food into the common room, and merely sat there watching the others having fun celebrating their victory. The only person other than himself who didn't participate as much toward their victory was his brother's friend Hermione Granger, who had been sitting right beside him quietly as she held a book in her hands without really reading it. Out of all the students in Gryffindor, Hermione was the only who he got along really well. She was an ambitious girl, and was probably smarter than Percy, if he ever cared to admit that. After watching the girl restlessly tapping her fingers on her book for nearly an hour, he finally decided that he'd ask her what was wrong.

"Oh," she said, looking taken aback at his question. Swallowing thickly, she said, "It's nothing really. I just... I- I haven't seen Draco all day. He wasn't even there during the match. When I tried asking his friends, both Nott and Zabini claimed they hadn't seem him since _last night._ They looked just as worried as I was."

Percy frowned, trying to remember the match. His frown deepened when he recalled that Malfoy _was_ absent from the match. He saw Harry yelling out to Marcus Flint about the blond's whereabouts, to which Flint ignored. With a sinking feeling, Percy began to see why the bookworm beside him was worry. Malfoy _never_ missed any of his matches. No matter how annoying the prick was, everyone knew he was always committed. He was still deep in thought when Neville Longbottom told him that there was a Ravenclaw girl asking to meet him outside of the dormitory. Excusing himself from the worrying bookworm, Percy went out to see the girl Neville spoke about, knowing that it could only be his… _girlfriend._ True to the younger boy's words, a blonde girl with long curly hair was standing in front of the portrait, her Ravenclaw blue robes peeked from behind the tresses of her hair. The same golden badge that Percy had was on her too, except hers read _HEAD GIRL_ instead of _HEAD BOY._

When Percy first met Penelope Clearwater, they stood side-by-side as they waited to get Sorted in their first year. They didn't talk because Percy was too busy worrying over the fact that he wouldn't get into Gryffindor like his parents and his brothers did before him. But he remembered how she looked fascinated over _everything_ when she got on the stool, revealing to him that she was most definitely a Muggle-born, from the way her eyes were wide in wonder. They didn't really talk until their fifth year, but Percy heard of her name a lot of times as the girl who nearly beat his scores, ranking second after himself. The first time they talked was when they were paired by Snape for a Potion project in their fifth year. At first, Percy saw her as a competition because he worried that if the girl proved to be smarter than him, than he would fail to live up to his name after all the legacy his brothers left him as smart and brilliant Weasleys. This resulted in a huge argument nearly _every single time_ when they met up to discuss their work. In the end, it was Penelope who suggested a truce, just until they were done with their project.

They ended up getting the highest mark.

The tall ginger could still remember the way she turned to him when they saw the O – _Outsanding_ on their report, smiling brightly at him before she let out a small laugh. He never saw her as a pretty face before, because he was more focused on the fact that the girl was so, _so_ smart. But right at that moment, everything changed. It was the moment Percy realised that he wasn't a kid anymore, and that before he could see it coming, he was actually having _feelings_ for the girl. In his eyes, she transformed into a beautiful girl with a brilliant mind to match and an amazing character to complete her. So before they left for the summer, Percy asked her whether he could write to her. He knew he was blushing so hard when he saw the smirk on her face, but he was so pleased when she said yes and gave him her address. They began to see each other in their sixth year, meeting up in bathrooms or empty classrooms during break. When she was Petrified, Percy nearly went mad with worry because the _only_ person who he truly cared other than his family, was in danger. Coupled with the fact that his brother Charlie nearly _died_ when Auror Tonks and Black found him after being missing for months, Percy was ashamed to admit that he was a terrible company that year. He just felt _so alone._

 _("You're not alone, Perce. If you'd_ see _that there are people who do care about you – that_ I _care about you. Merlin, you're so infuriating.")_

 _(_ He'd always been so blind. So blind and clueless. _)_

"Hey," Penelope greeted, reaching up to hug him. "Congratulations, okay? I should have known better than to bet that 10 Galleons with you."

"Thanks," Percy replied, giving the girl a small smile as he accepted the coins she pushed into his hand. He lowered himself to sit on the top of the staircase, patting the spot next to him for Penelope to sit on. "So, what are you doing here?"

Cocking an eyebrow, Penelope said, "Don't you want your money? After all, I lost the bet."

"Well, I could always ask for it tomorrow. I trust you wouldn't run away with my money."

The two shared a laugh before falling into an uncomfortable silent. Until last year, the two of them could talk about practically everything. They were so much alike, except Penelope wasn't socially awkward like himself. It was probably why they got along really well. They complimented one another. But then Percy just _had_ to make that one, _stupid_ mistake and –

"I know what happened that night," Penelope said suddenly, disturbing his train of thoughts.

"W-what night?" Percy asked, feeling his heart beat faster. When Penelope took sometime to answer, lowering her gaze to the floor, the ginger just _knew._

"That night, after our first fight," the Ravenclaw began in a small voice. "When I told you how you barely had anymore time for me because you were all too wrapped up in your ambitions. We nearly broke up, didn't we?"

Clenching his jaw, Percy stiffly replied in the affirmative.

"Dennis Templeton told my friend Stacey Higgs about it. He didn't mean to blab because if he did, _everyone_ would know about it by now. But Dennis knew Stacey cares a lot about me, and he told her so she could tell me. But I _promise,_ they didn't tell this to anyone."

Denni Templeton was a Gryffindor in his year. He had his flock of friends who were quite the opposite of Percy. But they got along for most of the time, always exchanging greetings when they ran into each other. Dennis also had a habit of partying almost every day, which meant that the bloke was rarely sober at night. So on that night, Percy made a mistake of _assuming_ that even though Dennis just stumbled into the common room, the other bloke would be too drunk to notice what happened.

"Penny, I…" He trailed off, not knowing what he should really say. "I'm sorry."

When Penelope looked at her again, he felt a thug to his heart when he saw that she had tears in her eyes. "Sorry? Whatever you're sorry for? If you want the truth, I've _always_ known about this, I think. Even before that night. You _like_ me, Percy, but I don't think that's enough. What you feel for me, it's not like what you feel for – "

"What are you talking about?" Percy quickly said, still unwilling to accept the fact that… That he… Shaking his head to banish the thought, he continued. "What I did was unacceptable. That's why I'm sorry about it. But, it doesn't mean that I… I mean, there's just no way that I – "

"That you have feelings for _Oliver Wood_?" Penelope cut in, her voice small as she gave him a sad smile. "That all this time, it's not _me_ that you have romantic feelings for, but your best friend?"

His breath was clogging up his windpipe, but Percy tried one more time. "N-no, I don't – "

But Penelope, bless her heart and soul, knew better. Cupping his face with one hand, she landed a kiss on his cheek. "Percy, it's all right. You don't have to hide it anymore. I told you before, right? I have _always_ known, Perce. It's okay. I promise."

(Blind. So blind and clueless.)

(And stupid.)

Percy had always been close with Gryffindor's beloved Keeper. The Scottish bloke was arguably his best friend. Out of the five blokes in their year, they both got along really well because they didn't like to socialise the way Dennis Templeton and his friends did. Oliver had his ambitions to become an international Quidditch player while Percy had his to be the youngest Prime Minister. Percy never noticed it but before Penelope came into his life, Oliver was pretty much his only company outside of his family. In his sixth year, after Olive offered to listen to whatever was bothering Percy, they became closer than before. The two was rarely seen without the each other. Oliver was the only person who knew about Percy's relationship with the Ravenclaw. When Penelope was Petrified, Oliver took it upon himself to cheer him up, always making sure that the wasn't wallowing alone in depression. Before he realised it, Percy became almost _dependent_ on Oliver. The first person he talked to when he received the Head Boy position wasn't his girlfriend, like most originally believed. No, it was the Keeper with his thick accent who Percy contacted first thing in the morning when he got the badge. Since the beginning of their seventh year, Percy realised that his relationship with Penelope began to change. They became distant, the whole time Percy spent more and more time with Oliver. When he and Penelope fought, he came into the common room angrily that night, and found Oliver was still sitting there, doing his homework.

He began to rant everything he'd been feeling to his friend. He was aware that in his rage, he probably talked too fast for Oliver to comprehend. But his friends proved to be a great listener, eyeing him solemnly, nodding his head and gave the right comment here and there. Once he cooled down a little, Percy plopped down beside Oliver, burying his face in his hand. He distinctly remembered Dennis going into the common room as Oliver offered him a cup of hot chocolate, to which Percy accepted thankfully. He noticed Oliver was saying something, probably to calm him down, the way he'd been doing for the past year. But right at that moment, Percy noticed how _close_ they were sitting to each other. Percy had always heard how girls liked hearing his friend talked because of his accent. But only then did the Head Boy realised how _true_ they were because right then and there, Percy felt like he could spend all of his life listening to Oliver's voice. He didn't even realise he was getting closer and closer _and closer_ toward his best friend, not until Oliver's voice trailed off. His best friend asked him what was wrong, his whole composure tense. But instead of answering, Percy did the last thing he expected of himself to do.

 _(The taste of chocolate filled his mouth, but he knew he tasted the same.)_

But then common sense kicked in, and Percy snapped.

 _(Merlin, what had he done.)_

"So _this_ is what you wanted to talk about, huh?" Percy said, sighing heavily as he embraced the girl. He felt relieved though, as if a huge burden that he'd been holding for _years_ was finally lifted. "You wanted to break up with me."

"Well, it's only fair," Penelope chuckled, lying her head on his shoulder. "You began the relationship by asking me out. I think it's perfectly normal for me to be the one to end things between us."

Her words made Percy laughed. But his laughter died down when the portrait swung opened, revealing Oliver standing there with a huge smile on his face. The moment he saw Percy and Penelope though, it was replaced with a look of pure despair. Clearing his throat, the Keeper made a comment about wanting to go somewhere quiet, before hurrying toward the direction of the Astronomy Tower. When Oliver was out of sight, Penelope didn't waste her time and elbowed Percy hard on his ribs, which caught him totally off guard.

" _Penelope!"_ the ginger exclaimed, glaring at the blonde who merely glared in return. "What was that for, woman? Are you trying to seriously injure me as a form of revenge?"

"God, you are hopeless!" Penelope said in exasperation, pinching the bridge of her nose. " _Go after him, you dolt!_ He probably thought we were canoodling out here. And now he's probably going to mope about it all alone, which is no doubt going to dampen his mood of winning the Cup. Seriously, you are the most insensitive bloke I've ever known, Percy Weasley."

"Oh," Percy muttered. Eyeing the direction where Oliver had gone too, he continued as he slowly got to his feet. "I uh… I better go now, I guess."

"Yes, Percival," Penelope drawled, rolling her eyes in annoyance, which brought a smile to appear on Percy's face.

He leaned once toward the girl and gave a quick peck. "Thank you, Penny. Thank you for everything. I wish you all the best because that's what you deserve."

Penelope smiled in return and nodded her head. Not wanting to waste more time, Percy quickly went to the Astronomy Tower, knowing that Oliver was particularly fond of that place because he often said that being on the Tower was the closest he could be to flying without actually getting on a broom. The ginger was practically running, his heart was beating madly in his chest in excitement as well as anxiety. When he finally reached the Tower, he saw Oliver was leaning on the railing, his back was on him as the Keeper's attention was all set on the view ahead of him. Percy watched in fascination at the way wind was playing with the short strands of Oliver's hair, and he briefly wondered whether he was out of breath because of running or because of Oliver. The Keeper, probably heard his footsteps and his rather loud breathing, whipped around toward him. Even in the dark, Percy could see clearly the pain that shined in Oliver's brown eyes, and it broke Percy's heart to realise that _he_ was the one who caused the pain. After all the Keeper had done for him, he had been so cruel in return.

"Oliver," Percy said softly, his name rolling pleasantly on his tongue as he walked closer toward the other boy.

"Hello, Perce," Oliver greeted stiffly, his accent thickened. "What are you doing here?"

Percy bit his lip, feeling nervous all of the sudden. He settled himself beside Oliver, their shoulders were touching. Shrugging, he said, "You told me once that this place would be a good place for thinking. And I've got a lot of things bothering me right now."

Almost instantly, the stiffness melted away, and Percy found Oliver looking at him in worry. "What's wrong, Perce? I…I know things haven't been good between us lately. But, you're still my best friend. Y-you can always tell me everything, you know. Well, if you…if you need me, that is."

Percy knew he needed to say it soon before he lost his confidence. So that was exactly what he did.

"I broke up with Penelope," the ginger blurted out. The revelation caused Oliver to raise his eyebrows.

"Pardon me?"

For the second time, Percy shrugged his shoulders. "Well, _she_ was the one broke up with me, actually. But, the point is, we're no longer together."

There was a beat before Oliver spoke in a small voice. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

 _(Not directly, at least.)_

"Still though, it upsets you."

"Hm… Do you know why she broke up with me?"

At this, Oliver frowned. "Because she felt like you'd been neglecting her, right? Wasn't that the reason why you two fought in the first place?"

Percy clenched his jaw. He thought it was completely unbelievable that Oliver couldn't hear how fast and loud his heart was beating because he was entirely convinced the _whole world_ could hear it. "You're not entirely wrong. I mean, I _did_ neglect her lately. But the reason though, the one she believed to be, wasn't true."

"Huh…" Oliver had a blank look on his face as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. Running a hand through his hair, he said, "Why did you, then?"

When Percy grabbed Oliver's face, the look of utter surprise that crossed the Keeper's face made the Head Boy grinned. But he didn't spend too long on observing the look on his best friend's face – or anything about his face, really. No, Percy did the thing that he'd wanted to do since that night when he fought with Penelope. _He kissed Oliver Wood._ He kissed his best friend. For a few seconds, Oliver merely stood there in shock, and the more seconds passed without any sort of reaction from Oliver, the more Percy felt terrified that he'd been _wrong._ Just when he was about to pull back, he found Oliver's hand had wrapped themselves behind his neck, and the shorter bloke was kissing him back passionately. Percy always valued himself to be intelligent, a lot more than most people. But right then and there, as his best friend nibbled on his bottom lip, slipping his tongue into his mouth before engaging in a battle for dominance, Percy felt like all his so-called intelligence had left him. And really, he didn't mind it. _At all._

But their precious moment was soon interrupted when they heard a loud clanging noise coming from the corner of the Tower. The two Gryffindors jumped from each other and were whipping their wands in a lightning speed, aiming them at the dark corner where they both heard the noise. It was the perfect spot to hide, and Percy was expecting for the worst. Beside him, Oliver called out for whoever it was to come out because they were both armed. But after awhile, there was no respond. Nothing came out from the dark corner, and the silence was ringing between them. Percy tried so hard to listen, hoping to catch the sound of footsteps retreating or the swift sound of wand moving. Instead, he heard a soft cough, followed by a pained whisper that was too low to catch if he wasn't really listening. Sharing a look with the Keeper, they then decided to come and inspect the source of the noise. If it turned out to be a trap from Pettigrew, at least Percy had Oliver with him. He knew that the two of them could probably hold up on their own until professors came to help them.

Percy was expecting a great many things when he finally lit the corner with the tip of his wand. He was expecting from rats to Pettiggrew himself. Heck, he wouldn't even blink if he found _Sirius Black_ kneeling there, because everyone was sort of expecting the Auror to pop around Hogwarts' ground since his disappearance from the captivity of the Death Eaters. The last thing Percy expected was to find the bloody and broken form of Draco Malfoy, his hands and legs were bound painfully with ropes. His blond hair, normally so clean and bright it was almost inhuman, was matted with dry blood that obviously came from the gaping wound on his head. The third-year's head was lolling to the side, clanging against old cauldrons that no doubt was the source of the noise Percy heard. The Slytherin looked like he was fighting to stay awake through all the blood that covered his face, and the gory sight he saw was making Percy to freeze up unconsciously. It took Oliver yelling out his name loudly, as he knelt beside the blond, for Percy to snap back into reality.

"…lost so much blood, Perce. We need to get him to Hospital Wing _right now,"_ Oliver said urgently as he hoisted the younger boy into his arms. " _Merlin,_ how long had he been here? He wasn't there during the match, right? He could have been here since last night _._ Poor lad. I can only imagine – "

"Oliver, stop," Percy said, holding onto the Keeper to stop him from moving. The ginger than moved toward the blond, leaning forward so his ear was directly in front of Malfoy. "He's saying something… What is it, Malfoy? Who did this to you? Do you know who was it?"

"Pettigrew… 'Twas Pettigrew… T-tell Dumbledore… Tell Dumbledore…"

"Tell him what, kid?" Oliver prompted. "Tell the old man about what?"

Instead of answering, Malfoy began to retch violently before coughing up blood. Not wanting to prolong the poor bloke's suffering, Percy told Oliver to go take Malfoy to Hospital Wing while the ginger himself ran as fast as he could to Dumbledore's office.

He didn't even realise he was practically covered in Malfoy's blood.

* * *

"…he say what happened? How did he run into Pettigrew?"

"No, sir. He had begun coughing up blood before he could tell us."

"Did you find him in the Map, Remus?"

"I've been watching the Map all along, Albus. Wherever he is, that rat knows we're not going easy on him. He knows we're watching every inch of the perimeter like a hawk."

"Of course, he would know, Lupin. Didn't I tell you that he's smarter than you and your best friends ever gave him credit for? _That_ was your, and still is, greatest mistake."

"Oh, shut up, Snivellus. At least Remus _tried_ to find the bastard. What did _you_ do? Moping over Evans' death, no doubt."

"Just as insolent as your brother. Let's just hope you have better luck than he does. Can't afford you getting captured as well, _Reggie._ "

"Why, you digusting, _snivelling –_ "

" _Boys_ ," McGonagall's voice rang loud and clear, her eyes were set in a cold glare at her former students. Remus and Snape shut their mouths rather quickly, their faces had identical looks of a child who had been harshly reprimanded. Regulus, on the other hand, had a hard time to control himself.

After all, that greasy git just insulted his brother.

"Thank you, Minerva," Dumbledore said, giving his most deputy a thankful smile. Turning his attention to Percy Weasley and Oliver Wood, who was still covered in young Malfoy's blood, their faces pale in shock, the old man said, "Mr Weasley, Mr Wood, you may return to your common room. Make sure no one leaves the dorm tonight. And please tell Mr Potter that we, Professor Lupin and I, need to see him in the morning. Now, off you go."

"Of course, sir," the two Gryffindors replied before they left. Regulus silently noted how much the two reminded him of his former best friend, the deceased Barty Crouch junior. Just like those two, he and Barty were the odd ducks in their year, which became the reason why they got along so well.

That was until he found out that Barty was a psycopath who idolised the Dark Lord to the point of obsession.

"Minerva, can you tell other Head Houses about this? So they can make sure none of their students are out of bed tonight."

McGonagall nodded her head. "Consider it done, Albus."

The last ones left in the Hospital Wing were Regulus, Dumbledore, Remus and Snape. Madam Pomfrey had been told to leave since hours ago, to which she replied with a scowl toward the Headmaster. But Dumbledore was either oblivious or just didn't have the patience to care about the matron's displeasure, because all his attention was set on the blond figure of the young Malfoy heir. After knowing the boys for almost three years, Regulus felt a certain fondness toward the boy. To see the child lying there on the bed, skin so pale he looked almost translucent, wrapped in bandages nearly all over his body, it was really unsettling for the former Slytherin. They hadn't alerted Draco's parents yet, but Regulus dreaded the moment the two Malfoys found out. He especially worried about Narcissa's reaction.

"Lupin, you're the Auror. Tell us what happened to my Godson," Snape ordered harshly, his eyes were like two pools of blackholes as they glared fiercely at Remus.

Sometimes, Regulus forgot that Severus Snape was more than the creep who obsessed over Lily Potter. Sometimes, he forgot that Snape was the Godfather of the Malfoy heir himself.

Sometimes, he forgot that no matter how much of a git Snape was, the greasy bastard actually _cared_ a great deal about his Godson's well-being.

"In case you missed the notice, I'm not bloody Sherlock Holmes," Lupin said flatly. "I don't do deductive reasoning."

"Who is Sherlock – "

"Remus, please," Dumbledore said, cutting Regulus mid-sentence. "Put yourself in Severus' shoes. Imagine if this was Harry."

Upon the mention of his own Godson, the Auror's features softened. He let out a huge sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. But I can only do so much, okay? We need Draco to wake up and tell us about it himself."

"Just do it, Lupin," Snape growled, obviously losing his patience.

"Alright… Well, judging from the extent of his injuries, Pettigrew wasn't the only who tortured Draco. It was obvious that he had someone else. From the wound on his head, and the residual glass pieces that littered his hair, I think someone smashed something that was made of glass onto his head. It was probably the reason why he was caught off guard in the first place. Also, Madam Pomfrey said that he suffered broken ribs, but not from getting hit or anything Muggle-way. It was more like someone used magic to break his bones. They pierced his lung, hence the blood-cough, but we're lucky it didn't puncture to deep or he would've died."

By that point, Regulus noticed Snape was gripping the bedside of Draco's bed tightly, his knuckles had turned white. Regulus couldn't blame the Potion Master. He could only imagine how painful it must be for Draco to endure such torture.

"The burn marks most definitely come from the ropes that bound him. The bruises and cuts on his face, on the other hand, were inflicted by hand, but _not_ Pettigrew's. His nails were also removed manually, without magic… I don't know about the nails, but Pettigrew definitely didn't do the beating. If it was the rat bastard, I doubt Draco would have survived. No, it was someone else. Pettigrew must have gotten some kids to do his dirty work."

"That must be the thing that he wanted Weasley and Wood to warn Dumbledore about," Regulus said, remembering the story. "He wanted Dumbledore to know that Pettigrew's not alone. That he got the children to help him."

"Did your _friend_ cast the Cruciatus Curse on the boy?" Snape asked in small voice. It was obvious, from the way he paled and seemed to struggle with himself, the thought that someone so young had suffered so much was too much for him to handle.

"Fortunately, no," Remus said, looking just as relieved as Snape was as he delivered the news. "I think Pettigrew realised that using the Cruciatus Curse on a child would be too dangerous because children are much more sensitive than adults. And he needed Malfoy to tell him whatever it was he wanted to know. No, using the Cruciatus Curse would probably destroy's Malfoy's mind, and he couldn't afford that during interrogation. And I doubt Pettigrew would use Legillimency on Draco. That kind of magic is too difficult for someone who's so messed up in the head."

"Very well. I guess we'll have to wait until Draco is awake," Dumbledore said. "In the mean time, I want you two to have a good night's rest before we go back to work early in the morning."

The looks on Remus' and Snape's faces were hilarious Regulus was tempted to laugh.

"I'm not leaving the boy," Snape spat out at the same time Remus said, "I'll not sleep until I find Pettigrew, professor."

But Dumbledore was just as stubborn. "I understand that you two take this matter seriously. And I'm thankful for that. But everyone can see that you have been losing a much needed rest. Go get some sleep, boys. _I_ will personally enforce the wards around the premises, Remus. And I think Regulus won't mind about watching over Draco for the night, won't you?"

"Sure," Regulus said automatically, knowing that it was futile to argue the old man.

Besides, like he said before, Regulus did care about Draco now.

The two rivals realised that they lost. Snape was scowling darkly as he marched out the Hospital in barely repressed anger, his robe billowing behind him like wings. Remus was a lot better at controlling himself, because he quietly left without the dramatics Snape did. Shaking his head at the childishness of his former students, Dumbledore then excused himself to Regulus before following behind Remus, leaving Regulus alone with the blond Slytherin. Realising that he would be there all night, Regulus resigned himself on a chair beside Draco's bed, and then sending a Patronus to his wife to tell her and the ladies back at Malfoy Manor that he wouldn't be home until the next day. He spent the next few hours thinking to himself, playing with his Heirloom mindlessly as he wondered where his brother was. Just a few weeks ago, he received news from Lucius that there were sightings of his brother in London. Even though he knew it could be wrong, Regulus didn't waste any time and Apparated to London himself to go look for his brother. When he couldn't find Sirius, he couldn't help but to feel immensely disappointed, even if he told himself countless time that if it really were the older Black, Sirius would have come home sooner.

Back at the Manor, he had to constantly deal with the women of the house. His own wife Irina, was thankfully a great help because she dealt with all the housework really well while Marlene and Dorcas were too busy being pregnant. The former nurse no longer jumped at the smallest amount of magic, and she was actually getting along with a few of the House Elves. When Marlene gave birth to little Hunter, Regulus felt like crying because the boy looked so much his brother. He knew he wasn't being fair, but he couldn't help himself when he spent a lot of time with the baby, a lot more than with Payne. Despite looking so much alike, there was something about Hunter that just screamed the Black genes to him, and it reminded him a lot of his brother. Payne was probably the one who looked like Sirius the most, but the older she got, Regulus could tell that she would grow up into the exact copy of Marlene. Hunter, on the other hand, was his father's son in nearly every way. It was probably why when Marlene asked him to be Hunter's Godfather, he instantly said yes.

"No…" a voice, Draco's voice, snapped Regulus back to reality. He had no idea how many hours had passed, but it probably hadn't been long because it was still dark outside. His attention went back onto the boy when he started to whimper pitifully. "Please… Please, stop. It hurts… It _hurts…_ "

"Draco?" Regulus said, taking the younger boy's hand in his own to soothe him. "Draco, it's alright. No one's going to hurt you. You're safe, kid. You're safe."

"Stop it, _please…"_ Draco whispered as tears began to fall from his closed eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about. Please, don't hurt me. No more… No more…"

Regulus was gripped with terror when everything in the room began to shudder as Draco started to convulse violently. In no time, things began to fly all over the room as heavier objects floated above the ground. It was clear that whatever it was that the boy saw in his mind, it was triggering his wandless magic to move things. When the windows began to crack, Regulus knew he had to wake the boy up before he destroyed everything. So, he lifted his hand up, trying to push the feeling of guilt away, and slapped the boy hard across the face. The loud smack of his hand landing on Draco's face caused everything to go eerily silent, but Regulus noticed that Draco still hadn't woken up yet. But just when he thought of slapping the boy one more time, Draco shot up from into sitting-position, nearly hitting his head against Regulus', as everything dropped onto the floor loudly. His eyes were wide opened, those grey eyes crazily scanned all over the room for whatever threat he imagined before. The boy's breathing was rough and ragged, and his whole body was trembling in the aftermath of his nightmare. But at least, the boy was awake, and he was calming down as seconds passed.

"Draco, it's me," the older wizard said, pushing face into the blond's view. "It's Regulus. You're okay. You're safe with. I promise. Draco, are you listening to me?"

Blinking a couple times, the Slytherin then slowly nodded his head. "Yes. I'm…I'm listening."

"Good," Regulus said, smiling as he patted the boy's hand. "Do you want to drink?"

"Yes, please," the boy said. He began to nod his head, but stopped abruptly. Judging from the grimace, he probably felt a horrible pounding in his head.

After he had his drink, Draco fell silent. He was refusing to meet Regulus eyes, choosing to focus on his bandaged hands. The older Pureblood knew that the blond must be traumatised. After all, no thirteen year old should be tortured for an information the way Draco was. Reaching out for the bar of chocolate Remus left him, he then silently passed it to the quiet blond after he'd unwrapped it, who accepted it gratefully with his closely-bandaged hands. Gripping the chocolate with both hands, the boy slowly and carefully shoved it into his mouth. Regulus noted with pleasure when colours began to return to Draco's naturally-pale skin, and he began to smile when he saw the boy was smiling as well. In no time, Draco had finished the all of the chocolate all by himself.

"Feeling better, kid?" Regulus asked.

Nodding slowly, careful not to upset the pounding in his head, Draco replied, "Yes. Thank you."

"Don't mention it…" They fell in a comfortable silent until Regulus decided to break it by trying to ask the boy what happened. "So, do you feel like talking?"

"Talking," Draco repeated flatly though panic flashed briefly in his grey eyes.

"Yeah, about what happened. I know it must be hard for you to remember what must have been the most traumatising thing that ever happened to you, but we _really_ need to know, Draco."

The blond bit his lip, his breath coming short and labored. Regulus waited patiently for him to start talking though, knowing that sooner or later, Draco would crack under the burden of the suffering he went through and ended up spilling everything. His heart broke for the boy, who was like a kid brother for him for real. His patience was warranted after awhile, when Draco took a deep breath, seemingly trying to tell himself to be brave. The older Pureblood reached out to hold the younger one's hand as a support, to which the boy accepted graciously.

"I don't know whether you know about this or not, but Granger and I are unofficially together now," Draco began, his face flushing red. Regulus couldn't help himself when he cocked his head to the side in amusement.

"How unofficial is it?"

"Well, I've never really asked her to…to be my… _girlfriend._ We just…start seeing each other a lot between classes, like during lunch break. Sometimes I'll walk her to her class if we don't have the same class. When we do, we'll…sit together."

At this point, Draco was blushing harder than before, if it was possible. It made Regulus wondered just how serious was things between the bookworm and the Pureblood heir. He decided to be nice and not tease the boy, even though the cheeky part of him was tempted to do so. "All right. You're seeing Miss Granger. Then what?"

"Last night, I was supposed to return her Muggle novel, _To Kill A Mockingbird._ On my way, the staircase changed, so I took another path, a longer one that people rarely use. It was sometime later when I heard footsteps following behind me, so I quickened my pace. But they were getting closer, so by then, I was practically running. Suddenly, I felt someone grabbed to my hand, jerking me to a sudden halt. Turning around, I found no one was behind me. It was a mistake though. Because someone slammed something onto my head, knocking me out instantly. The next thing I knew, I found myself in the Astronomy Tower, bound by enchanted ropes that burn my skin if I moved too much."

Here, the boy stopped. His postured had gone rigid as he let out a shuddering breath. Taking a pity on him, Regulus used his other hand to pat Draco's shoulder. "It's okay to stop if you feel like it's getting too much. But, from my own personal experience, it would only get worse when you start again. Trust me, I know it."

"Okay," Draco muttered, but there was a newfound determination in his eyes. "So I uh… I woke up in the Astronomy Tower. I found Marcus Flint, Adrian Pucey, and three other seventh-year Slytherins looming over me. I just got into a fight with them a few weeks ago about Hermione, so now that I look back to it, I should have known better than to wander around alone. I braced myself for the beating, which they did right then and there. I had no idea how long they beat me up, but then I heard someone told them to stop. It was Pettigrew. He came out from the shadow, revealing himself for the first time that night. He then lowered himself on his knees beside me, saying – "

 _" – we must deal with Lucius' golden boy carefully, kids. Right now, his old man is our biggest support. But I can tell that even Lucius has left our cause behind. He's joined the other blood-traitors to fight against the Dark Lord. That's why we have to punish him, to remind him of his place, through his beloved son."_

 _Draco felt Pettigrew pulled his chin up, and through swelling eyes, the blond could see the manic glint in the man's eyes. Pettigrew then lifted his wand, and Draco could feel his insides going cold. "W-what…what are you going to do to me?"_

 _"Nothing," Pettigrew said sweetly, using his free hand to caress Draco's blond hair. "I'll let you go as soon as you tell me where does my dearest Remus keep the Map."_

 _"Map?" Frowning, Draco was caught off guard by the question. "What Map?"_

 _"Don't play dumb with me, boy," Pettigrew laughed mirthlessly. It sounded like the vilest and cruelest thing that Draco ever heard. "The Map. The Marauders Map. The one that can show everything about Hogwarts and everyone in it, even your stinking, spoiled, Pureblood arse."_

 _He saw the frustration in Pettigrew's eyes, and Draco felt like he just one-upped the evil bastard. Channeling his inner-Black arrogance, he sneered at the man and said, "I really have no idea what you're talking about."_

 _For a split second, Pettigrew looked like he was going to kill Draco, and the blond flinched at the thought. But then the maniac started to grin as he gathered Draco's hands in his own. With one hand, he reached for something in his pocket that he shielded from Draco's eyes. "You're lying. I know you're lying to me, boy. I've seen that smug look billions of times on Sirius Black's face, and let me tell you that his deceiving look is far more believable than yours."_

 _"That's because I'm_ not _lying, you sick bas – AAAH!"_

 _He felt unbearable pain coming from his right thumb when Pettigrew plucked his nail. The man sushed him with a cold hiss. "Hush up, boy! You're going to wake the entire castle with your girlish scream… Now, you have nine chances left to tell me the truth. Where is the Map?"_

 _"I told you, I don't – "_

 _The nail from his left thumb was gone._

 _"Eight more to go! Where is the Map, Draco?"_

 _"I don't – "_

 _"Seven more! Come on, this must be painful for you. Just tell me where is it, and I promise, this all will be over soon."_

 _"I really don't know – "_

 _Another nail went missing. And another. And another. Until only one was left from his ten fingers. At that point, Draco was begging him to stop. He even begged to Flint and his cronies to stop. But the older boys were silent, either from a sickening pleasure of watching Draco in pain or from the horror of blood that came running out from Draco's bleeding fingers. He didn't care though. All he wanted was for the pain to stop. He felt a hand on his face, and Draco immediately jumped away, whimpering._

 _"One last chance, Draco," Pettigrew said softly. "Tell me where's the Map."_

 _"Please…" Draco sobbed. "I really don't know… I don't know about – "_

 _"Don't say I didn't warn you," Pettigrew growled._

 _"Sir, I think he's telling the truth," Flint said, his voice sounded weird. "I think he really doesn't – "_

 _"SILENCE!" Pettigrew roared, and even through his pain, Draco noticed how the man had completely lost it. "_ You _told me that Lupin was seen eyeing up some piece of parchment. Either_ you _are the who's lying, or this brat is."_

 _Draco heard rustling above him as he curled like cat, holding his bleeding hand. He was hoping to whatever Being was in-charge of his life that help would come for him soon. He knew he hadn't been the best kid before, but he didn't think he was really that bad to deserve such punishment. However, the Universe no doubt hated him so much because he felt the most excruciating pain wrecking his whole body as he felt the bones in his body, especially his ribs, began to crack. Draco began to scream. He screamed, and screamed, and_ screamed _until he felt his throat was going sore. He wanted everything to stop. He_ beggged _for everything to stop. He'd had enough. It was all so painful. He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted it to stop please please please. He didn't want anymore pain. He couldn't take it. Stop it. Just stop or else he's going to di –_

"Stop," Regulus rasped as he pulled Draco into his arms, hugging the sobbing boy tightly. "That's enough. You can stop now. Nothing's going to hurt you again, Draco."

"He wouldn't stop," the blond whispered tearfully. "I tried asking him again and again but he _just wouldn't stop._ "

"I know. But it's stopped now. You're safe, kid. And I'm sorry for making you to go through all that again. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. _I'm sorry._ "

As Draco cried in his arm, Regulus was suddenly gripped with the inhuman rage and lust to _exterminate_ that filthy rat like that rotten rodent he was. Hurting his brother, a full-grown, extremely-capable wizard was one thing. Sirius had trained his whole life to handle pain. Heck, he _grew up_ with pain under their parents harsh teachings. But torturing a child, the most innocent aspect of the world that kept Regulus' faith in the cruel life he was living, was something else entirely. Peter Pettigrew had crossed the line. He'd crossed it big time.

And Regulus would see that the rat paid for what he'd done.


	30. THIRD YEAR: Chapter 9

News about what happened to Draco spread around really quick. When Regulus told Dumbledore everything Draco told him, the old wizard's blue eyes, normally so calm and collected, flashed in anger even as his whole composure never changed. He merely asked the younger Black brother to tell Snape to expell the boys who had helped Pettigrew, before sending a Patronus turning his attention back to Remus and Harry, who had been there the whole time, listening to Regulus' story with wide eyes. According to Harry, Regulus looked positively shocked when he told the Auror about Draco's story, and it was obvious that when he reached the part where Draco was tortured, the Pureblood didn't have it in him to repeat everything that happened. An hour later, when Dumbledore told him that he could go have his breakfast, Harry went back to Gryffindor Tower instead, to tell Ron and Hermione about all that he heard. He hadn't even finished telling his bookworm friend what had happened when the girl pushed passed him, practically ran all the way to Hospital Wing.

 _("Harry, you look like you've just seen a ghost! Well, there are ghosts here, but you get my point, right? What happened?")_

 _("It's Malfoy.")_

It took every ounce of her will to stop herself from fainting when she saw the blond lying in the bed, practically wrapped in bandages from top to toe. Despite being taller than her two friends, Malfoy wasn't exactly thin. He wasn't even as lanky as Ron. The fact that he was the second smartest in his year always made him a lot intimidating than most kids his age usually were. But the boy who was lying on that bed, he looked like broken toy. The menacing look that he pulled off effortlessly whenever he was trying to scare off some first year was gone. As Hermione came closer toward him, she noticed that even in his sleep, he looked troubled. This was the second time in her whole three years that she knew him that she ever saw him hurt. But the first time it happened, he didn't look like his nightmares were _killing_ him. The longer she looked at him, the more her heart ached at the thought of how much in pain he was. She considered on leaving him, especially when she felt like she'd go mad imagining everything he'd gone through. But then he began to whisper her name, and that changed her mine. Taking a seat on the empty chair by his side, Hermione plopped down and _stayed._ For him.

That was five hours ago.

She was grateful that it was a Sunday, which meant she could spend as long as she wanted with the blond Pureblood without having anyone searching for her. In the past five hours, Draco had some visitors coming. The first ones to come were Harry and Ron, who had followed Hermione. They stayed for about an hour, trying their best to cheer them up. Then Draco's friends, Nott and Zabini, were the next ones to come. They didn't look the slightest bit surprised when they saw Hermione was there already. They merely pulled two chairs to Draco's other side, and sat in silence with Hermione for the next hour. Before they left, however, both Slytherins muttered a soft 'thank you' to the bookworm. Nott even went as far as patting Hermione gently on the shoulder. The last of Draco's visitors was Luna Lovegood. The little blonde didn't stay long, but she brought pudding with her. Hermione quietly noticed how Luna brought two servings of pudding, as if she'd known that Draco had someone with her. She didn't say much, merely saying how she'd always liked Draco, before she left as she hummed the Hogwarts antheme to herself. By then, it was already diiner. Hermione originally didn't want to leave, but Madam Pomfrey insisted that she either left on her own, or the matron would drag her down to the Great Hall herself. The Gryffindor had no choice but to obey the older witch.

Harry and Ron were already down in the Hall when she got there. The Boy Who Lived wordlessly pushed a plate of chicken and mashed potato for her while Ron poured her some pumpkin juice. Hermione had never felt so grateful to have such great friends like her two boys. Finishing her dinner in record time, she quickly excused herself, to which her friends replied with a quick nod of their heads. She was half-running when she was going back to the Hospital, but stopped shortly just in front of the door when she saw through the small gap from the slightly opened door that Draco wasn't alone. _His parents were there._ Narcissa Malfoy was sitting on a chair that Hermione just vacated around half an hour before. Her husband Lucius was standing behind her, one hand was on the beautiful witch's shoulder while the other one was holding his daughter, who thankfully was fast asleep. Even without seeing the expression on their faces, judging from their tense composures, Hermione could guess that the two Purebloods were distraught. Despite their bad reputation, the young bookworm had seen how much the Malfoys cared for their son. Knowing that she couldn't very well barged inside, not with the two Malfoys there, Hermione decided to wait outside, lowering herself on the floor and leaned against the wall, still managing to take a peek through the gap though. She didn't mean to eavesdrop but just seconds later, she heard the two began to talk.

"He looks like he's still tortured," Narcissa said in a small voice, her voice breaking a little in the end. "When Draco's asleep, he always looks peaceful. Never like this."

It was almost a full minute later when Lucius answered. "I'm sorry, Cissy. I'm _really_ sorry."

"Tell that to our son, Lucius," the witch said coolly. "I'm not the one you should be apologising to, and you _know_ it."

"Cissy…" Lucius began but his wife cut him off by shrugging his hand harshly.

" _No._ We had a _deal._ Back when you told me you've joined _him,_ you told me that it's only to make sure that our child would be safe. As much as I loathed your decision, but I understood that it was for Draco's protection."

"I have done my best. I turned my back on them, didn't I?" Lucius' voice was getting louder and in his arms, little Lyra was getting antsy with all the voices that disturbed her sleep.

"Really? Then tell me why is _my_ son lying there on the bed, after having been tortured within an inch of his life? Look what's happened, Lucius."

"This happened _only_ because I was trying to rescue your cousin!"

Narcissa shot up from her seat so abruptly, Hermione thought she would have knocked her head on Lucius' jaw. Her face was only a hairsbreadth away from her husband's, and even from where Hermione was, she could see the blue in those eyes glinted in anger. "Do _not_ bring Sirius into this! My cousin has been _nothing_ but kind and understanding to you, even after you tried to poison Marlene McKinnon, nearly killing the woman and her child."

Lucius looked like he was going to reply, but right then and there, a soft moan came from Draco. Almost instantly, the two Malfoys turned their attention to their son, their argument momentarily forgotten as they fussed over their son.

"Draco? Draco, I'm here," Narcissa cooed, sitting back on her seat as she leaned on Draco, whispering into the Slytherin's ears softly. "Mother's here, my little dragon. You're safe now with me. My child, my love, my _world._ I'm here, I'm here, _I'm here…"_

"Mother?" Draco whispered, his voice sounding very much like a little boy. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, it's really me. You're okay now. Do you need anything?"

The young Malfoy didn't answer. Instead, his attention seemed to shift to the figure standing behind his mother because he then said, "Father. Y-you're here too?"

When Lucius tilted his head to the side, Hermione was amazed at how much the small gesture reminded her of her…her… _boyfriend._ "Of course, I'm here. Where else would I be, son?"

"Should…shouldn't you be helping Regulus Black with finding his brother?" Draco said in a small voice. "Dumbledore told me that's what you're doing."

"Sirius Black can wait. You're _more_ important."

Lucius' words seemed to surprise Draco because it took him awhile to speak again, and he sounded incredibly surprised. "I _am?_ I mean, I'm just… _me._ I'm just a boy."

"And you're _my_ son. You always comes first before everything else." The Malfoy patriarch let out a heavy sigh as he pulled another chair for him to sit on, shifting his daughter carefully so he wouldn't wake her up. "Draco, I want you to listen _very_ carefully to me. You're my son, and that means you will always come first. The world can crash and burn around me, but as long as you're okay, it's a risk I'm willing to take. I will _never_ let anything or anybody hurt you."

When she heard soft sobs that echoed heart-breakingly around the room, Hermione knew that Lucius' words had touched Draco. She knew how much the blond always worried that he would never be enough for his father. But Draco wasn't there that day when Lucius came barging into the infirmary in their first year, after the whole thing with the Sorcerer's Stone. He didn't see how worried Lucius was about his son. Hermione was there, and she saw everything. She'd been trying to tell Draco about it, but the stubborn blond just wouldn't listen to her. Now though, as Narcissa wisely stepped aside for Lucius to come forward, taking Lyra from Lucius' arm, Hermione was glad that Draco would finally see that his father really did care for him. Lucius Malfoy might be the right-hand man of the devil himself, but he would fight to the end of the world for his son.

"I know I haven't been the best father, but I want you to know that I _do_ love you, son," Lucius said, pulling Draco into his arms. "I'm so sorry this has happened for you. I'm really sorry."

"You're enough," Draco said, his voice a little muffled. He lifted his head up, one hand reaching out to his mother. "You and mother are more than enough."

"Oh, my baby," Narcissa cried, pushing Lucius aside rather roughly as she hugged her son, careful not to press her youngest though. "You're growing up _so fast_ but I can still remember my darling baby boy when you were just born. You were an angel, and still are."

Hermione felt like intruding. The Malfoys weren't affectionate people. They were infamous for being almost heartless and unfeeling. But as she watched the family of four hugging and crying, Hermione realised how wrong everyone was. Getting up onto her feet, Hermione tried to leave because she felt guilty for eavesdropping. However, because the universe seemed to be conspiring against her, the bookworm accidentally kicked the door opened just when she was about to stand up. Her face flushed furiously when she saw how three pair of eyes landed on her, only one pair seemed happy to see her. She swallowed hard in embarrassment, especially when Lucius cocked an eyebrow at her arrogantly. Hermione was a Gryffindor though. Clearing her throat awkwardly, the girl took a brave step into the room.

* * *

 _Children and their nasty, nosy habit._

That was the first thing that popped into Lucius' mind when the door suddenly slammed opened, revealing a girl with bushy hair that looked like a lion's mane. It didn't even occur to the Pureblood that the girl standing before him was none other than the Muggle-born Gryffindor that his soon was smitten with. Well, at least not until he caught the small smile on Draco's face. The girl was blushing, but the stubborness that was definitely a trait that seemed to be common with all Gryffindors, didn't let her to runaway like most children would whenever they saw him. She was determined, and if there was anything that Lucius could admire about the girl, not that he would admit it out loud, that would be it. Tilting her chin upward defiantly, she got inside the room and made her way toward his family. The look on her face told him that she was probably considering of the best way to introduce herself to him and his wife. But his son, who shared so much in common with his beloved Narcissa, was already a few steps ahead of her.

"Mother, Father, this is Hermione Granger. She's my…she's really special to me," Draco said flatly, straight to the point. Lucius was about to say something when his son quickly continued. "I _really_ like her, a lot. She's an amazing person who's always been kind to me. So, I'd appreciate it if you treat her nicely, regardless of who she is or _what_ she is."

 _So, no calling her the M word,_ Lucius thought, biting his tongue. _Huh._

That _would be a challenge._

His wife, as always, was the first one to get a grip on the situation. "It's very nice to finally meet you properly, Miss Granger. We've met, of course, at young Potter's birthday party."

"Yeah, but we didn't really talk," Granger said, politely taking Narcissa's outstretched hand.

"Yes, yes. What a shame." Turning to him, Narcissa not-so-discreetly elbowed him, but her smile never faltered. "You've probably known him, my dear, but this is my husband Lucius. Darling, say hello to Miss Granger."

"Hello, Mr Malfoy," Granger greeted stiffly.

"Miss Granger," Lucius drawled out. He was rather proud of himself when he managed to do that without flinching. He noticed how the girl relaxed significantly when Draco grabbed her hand and held it firmly in his. Lucius' breath hitched in his throat when he saw the two shared a smile.

It wasn't the kind of smile shared between friends. That was the kind of smile that he gave for his Cissy, the love of his life. And his _son_ was giving that kind of smile to a girl.

 _A Muggle-born girl!_

Lucius was trying all his best to stop himself from cringing at the thought of Draco hanging out with the Muggle-born when suddenly, the door to the hospital was slammed opened for the second time that day. It didn't take Lucius long to figure out that the ginger boy standing by the door was a Weasley, the one who was best friends with Potter. From what he last heard, his son was somewhat civil with the ginger. It really irked him that Draco didn't hold the same animosity Lucius himself had with Arthur Weasley. The Pureblood wondered how close Draco was with Weasley-boy, because in his limited experience when it came to friendship, he was pretty sure only good friends visited each other when one of them was in the hospital. However, when Weasley's attention was solely directed at Granger, he realised that Draco probably wasn't the reason for the Gryffindor's arrival.

"Hermione!" the boy said urgently, oblivious to the fact of other people in the room. "You _have_ to help me. You have to stop Harry from going after him!"

"Him? Who is he going after, Ron?" Granger asked, paling. "Please, don't tell me it's Pettigrew."

Weasley swallowed heavily as he nodded. "We were waiting in Professor Lupin's office for Harry's Patronus practise. I suppose the professor was running late, so we waited for them. The Map was there on Lupin's desk. Harry took a look on it and caught Pettigrew's name."

"But that could be a trap," Granger said. "Obviously Pettigrew knew he was being watched. It could only mean one thing if he suddenly appeared on the Map.

"That was what I told him. But he wouldn't listen. And you know that despite being shorter, Harry's rather fast on his feet. So instead of going after him, I thought of getting you to get him as I go to find Professor Lupin. We all know he listens more to you than me."

"Potter and his hero-complex," Draco muttered, his eyes flashed in something that Lucius could only determine as panic. Both Granger and Weasley ignore him.

"Fine, I'll go after Harry. Where did he – "

Lucius had tuned out though. There was no way Potter and Granger could survive fending for their lives it really were Pettigrew. The digusting creep might not be the brightest bulb around, but that was when he was compared to his three _friends._ Lucius knew for a fact that Pettigrew was a lot smarter than everyone assumed him to be. Not to mention, the man was absolutely insane, and that made him all the more dangerous. Even though he wasn't exactly fond of Potter and _should_ have hated Granger on the fact that she was a Muggle-born, Lucius really couldn't imagine what would happen if the two really had to fight Pettigrew alone. Before he could fully comprehend what he was going to do, Lucius realised that there was _no_ other way. He didn't like doing it but it didn't mean it wasn't right. At least he could prove himself to Dumbledore and the other Order members.

"I'll go after Potter," he said suddenly, surprising everyone in the room. "Weasley, you go get Lupin right now, tell him that I've gone after his stupid Godson. Then you go tell Dumbledore. Miss Granger, I want you to explain to Regulus Black what happened once my wife's contacted him to get here. Cissy, you do that. Send a Patronus to your cousin."

"I'm sorry but I don't think that's a good idea, Mr Malfoy," Granger said after she got over her shock. Lucius had to give it to her, she looked perfectly calm as she contradicted him, something that not even his son had the guts to do. "Your son is hurt because Pettigrew found out how you've turned your back on the Death Eaters. I don't think it'll be wise if he sees you coming to help Harry."

"And I suppose you'll be able to fight a full-grown wizard, a wanted murderer, if I might add, all on your own, Miss Granger?" Lucius drawled coolly, causing the girl to blush. He caught his son glaring at him, and he had no choice but to tone it down a little. "I get your point, girl. But we all know that Potter has better chance of surviving with me. You all just have to trust me."

"Okay," Hermione said after awhile, shifting her weight awkwardly. "And uh, thank you."

Lucius merely nodded. "If you'll all excuse me, I have a dumb hero to save, and hopefully, a psychotic murderer to kill."

Not wasting any time, he quickly headed to Whomping Willow, where he learned from Weasley that it was where they spotted Pettigrew's name on the supposedly magic map that had nearly caused his son's life. Granger then added that it was a secret entrance to Shrieking Shack, and explained how to get in. All the way he made from the infirmary to the Shack, he only hoped he wasn't too late, the whole time also wishing that Lupin and the other adults came soon. When he got through the secret tunnel, Lucius couldn't help but to wonder how the two Gryffindors knew about it, seeing that everyone had always feared both the tree and the haunted house. The thought flew right out of his mind when a Stunner when toward him, missing his head narrowly when he dodged. He hid behind a broken shelf, but managed to catch the sight of a familiar messy hair.

" _Impedi – "_

"Stop!" Lucius yelled. "Potter, do _not_ attack! It's me; Lucius Malfoy."

A beat, then, "Mr Malfoy? What are you doing here?"

Lucius stepped out into view, cleaning dust from his immaculate robes. Scowling at Potter, he said, "Well, what are _you_ doing here, boy? What were you thinking, trying to catch Pettigrew on your own? I didn't think you were this stupid."

The blond Pureblood watched in amusement as the boy glared bravely at him. "I'm not stupid. And I _am_ going to catch that criminal. He was the reason my parents were _dead,_ and also the one who captured Sirius too."

"I know that. And believe me, I understand. But that doesn't mean you can run offf recklessly like this. Bloody hell, boy; you'd _die_ before the Dark Lord could touch you at this rate."

" _I don't care!_ I have to avenge my parents, and Sirius. So, if you – "

A low chuckle was heard from his right, and Lucius only had a split second to place himself in front of Potter and cast the Protection Charm to ward off the hex coming in their way. From the corner of the room, Pettigrew took off his Dilusionment Charm, revealing his wasted and derranged form. Lucius remembered the mousy-boy who used to follow his friends around, remembered the scared-look in those watery-eyes. He began to wonder just how much Azkaban had destroyed Peter Pettigrew. The man standing in front of him was nothing like the cowardice boy he remembered.

"Ah, Lucius," Pettigrew said, looking mock-disappointed. "You shouldn't be here, old friend. If you're going to betray us, at least make it less obvious."

"You hurt my son," Lucius said calmly though every fibre of his being was burning in rage at the thought of what Pettigrew had done to Draco. "I think I have all the reason to be here."

"Your son was a screamer, you know. He screamed _so much_ when I plucked his nails one by one. It sounded like music to my ears."

"Shut it, Pettigrew," Potter snapped, paling a bit as he probably imagined the torture Draco went through. "What you did to Malfoy was sickening, you demented creep. Your problem is with me and my family. Don't take it out on some other innocent victim."

"My, my, my… Aren't you _just_ James' son, Harry? Always so heroic, that one was. Everyone's _favourite_ Gryffindor."

Potter looked positively livid by then. "How DARE you talk about my father? After what you've done? You betrayed my parents!"

" _No, Harry, my boy!"_ Pettigrew screamed, and Lucius had to push Potter behind himself when the murdering psycopath stepped closer toward them. "It was _your father_ who betrayed me first, by hanging out with Lupin. I could deal with being number two when it was only Black because then again, the whole world _always_ bow down to Blacks, even Lord Blondie over there. But then that stupid, disgusting _monster_ came around and ruined everything!"

"Don't you _ever_ ," Potter began murderously, his tone making him sounding much older. "Call Remus Lupin a monster. _You_ are the monster for betraying my parents."

"I will call him whatever I want to, that blasted were – "

 _"Stupefy!"_

A jet of blue flew in Pettigrew's direction coming from Potter's wand, but Pettigrew managed to step aside to avoid it. That was all Lucius needed though. Before Pettigrew had a chance to lounge a counter-attack, Lucius had whipped his wand out, ready to hex the man. But a telltale red-light of the Disarming Charm hit Pettigrew right when Lucius shot the Full-Body Bind Curse. Arms and legs snapping to his side, Pettigrew dropped to the ground with a loud thud. At the same time, Remus Lupin came out from the shadow where he'd been hiding. Lucius caught the warning in the Auror's green-golden eyes before the man fell onto his knees, clutching himself tightly as he writhed in pain. Behind him, Lucius felt Potter tensing as he let out a shuddering breath.

"Lupin, are you – "

"Lucius, get Harry out of here!" Lupin yelled, holding his head in his hands.

"But, what about – "

"Now, Lucius! Now, now, now – _N O W!"_

That last part was said in a howl as Lupin's eyes turned golden and his face slowly began to morph into something beastly. Lucius didn't need to be told twice as he dragged Potter with him out of the room and into the tunnel, using the Levitation Charm to drag Pettigrew behind him. He heard the loud screams from where they just left Lupin, and right at that moment, Lucius realised the horrible truth that only then occurred to him. The Shrieking Shack was built sometime when James Potter and his band of troublemaking fools began their Hogwarts years. The Whomping Willow had been around since then too. He also remembered all the time Severus Snape tried to tell him that there was something _wrong_ with Lupin, who disappeared for at least three days every month, specifically every _full moon._ But Lucius was always too busy with his own life that he waved Snape's words aside. As he climbed out the little whole, Lucius was gripped with terror when he heard a loud howl coming toward him. He was only a few steps away from the Whomping Willow when he was hit really hard by one of the tree's branches, causing him to get flung aside like a rag doll. He felt wind being knocked out of his lungs as he landed roughly on the ground. He saw the branch coming one more time toward him, and he knew it would have bludgeoned him to death if that Potter kid hadn't pulled him out of the way right on time. However, it got him distracted because from the corner of his eye, he saw Pettigrew waving at him before he Transformed – _into a rat!_

 _The sodding filth was an Animagus!_

"NO!" Potter screamed, lunging forward as if he was going to catch Pettigrew. But right at that moment, a towering beast had come out from the tunnel, its glowing golden eyes were the only thing that reminded Lucius of the calm and soft-spoken Auror.

"Potter, get behind me," Lucius said, once again using his body as a shield for the boy.

Lupin growled at him, showing those monstrous teeth that looked like death. Lucius had his wand trained at the approaching beast, ready to use it to protect himself and Potter anytime when needed. He couldn't help himself when he shuddered at the sound of a howl that Lupin let out, his breath hitched in his throat when Lupin charged at him. He was about to shoot the Stunner in Lupin's way, when he heard Regulus Black's voice calling out for Lupin's name. At the arrival of their new _guest_ , Lupin's attention was soon redirected at the younger Black. His face scrunched in away Lucius bet a human would when scowling. Then Luping began to leap toward Black, and Lucius realised he held his breath in anticipation for the inevitable – either Lupin was going to get hexed or Black was going to get bitten. The last thing he expected was to see Black leaping into the air, and Transformed into a _lion_. Lucius had only seen a real lion once, when he himself was a kid and snuck out to a Muggle zoo. But he was sure that real lion wasn't nearly as big as the creature that was now fighting against Lupin, both gigantic beasts tried to bite each other's heads off.

"Come on, Mr Malfoy," Potter panted, sounding a bit relieved although he still looked upset at the fact that Pettigrew managed to escape. "I suppose we have to go tell what happened to Dumbledore. I _can't_ believe Pettigrew had managed to one-up us again."

Lucius didn't immediately move. He was still watching the two creatures fighting, acknowledging how Black had dragged Lupin into the forest. It took Potter calling for his name twice for him to focus his attention on the boy. "Your Godfather though…"

Potter swallowed heavily, those green eyes of his worriedly eyed the forest where Lupin and Black had continued their fight. Sighing, the boy continued. "Remus will be fine. It's hardly the first time for him. Good thing Regulus' here. I just wish it was Sirius though. Irina still doesn't like the fact that Regulus becomes an Animagus, a shape-shifter in her words, only to risk his neck every month to make sure Remus is alright."

"How long has he been – "

"A werewolf? Since he was a kid." Potter's expression took a serious turn though as he solemnly looked straight into Lucius' eyes. "But you _can't_ tell anyone about it. You really can't, Mr Malfoy. You know what the Ministry will do to him once they find out."

For the second time that night, Lucius surprised himself when he said, "Don't worry, boy. I'm not a snitch. I promise won't tell."

"Thank you, Mr Malfoy."

When Potter gave him a small smile, it was only then that Lucius remembered that the boy in front of him, who might very well be the world's greatest hope on fighting the Dark Lord, was no more than that – _a boy._ Potter was just a kid who even younger than his own son. Nodding his head stiffly as a respond, Lucius slowly made his way to the castle with Potter by his side.

 _What a bloody mess this world we live in,_ the blond Pureblood thought to himself, feeling like he'd aged a decade in one night as he eyed Dumbledore's familiar figure with the Cornelius Fudge and practically the whole Ministry behind them.

* * *

 **NOTES:** Hello! I realise that I usually do this at the beginning of the chapter, but I really don't feel like scrolling up lol :P Anyway, I really don't know what to think about this chapter. A part of me really enjoyed writing this chapter. But on the other hand, there's just too much... _flaw_ with this chapter. I've been re-writing it for like, four times already, and I think this is the best I can come up with. So, if you think it's awful, I'm really sorry. Tell me what you think though, but no flames, okay? Constructive criticism is very much welcomed, but be polite about it. Thanks for reading, guys, and till next time! :)


	31. THIRD YEAR: Chapter 10

**NOTES:** Hi! Here's the last chapter for our third part of the story. I kinda like this chapter, to be honest. But I've got _sooo_ much planned for the next part (which is Harry's fourth year), and I'll probably like my upcoming chapter even more lol :P What do you think, guys? Which chapter do you like best? What do you think of the story so far? I'm really looking forward to read what you guys think of my story. Anyway, here's the new chapter! :)

* * *

 _"Where is Remus?"_

Marlene had known Dorcas for over two decades. Around twenty-three years, to be precise. Just like her husband, Dorcas was very soft-spoken, and was probably the gentlest woman ever to exist on Earth. Compared to bossy Lily and fusy Marlene, the boys often teased that the two talked enough for Dorcas to keep quiet for the rest of her life. But in all the years she knew her friend, she'd only heard Dorcas yelled _twice._ The first time was in their seventh year, when she tried to knock some sense into Remus after the little incident with Sirius and Snape. The second time was during the event of Payne's birth, when Remus nearly killed himself by saving both Sirius' and Marlene's life. Now, as she held Dorcas' hand tightly while she helped the witch got onto a bed in St Mungo's, she weirdly noticed it as the third time in their whole year of friendship for her to witness Dorcas Lupin, formerly Meadowes, screaming _so loud_ Marlene felt like she was going deaf. And, just like the previous two times, once again it was because of _that idiot_ Remus John Lupin.

Well, that was Dorcas' words. Not Marlene's.

During the nine months she was pregnant, Dorcas was actually very normal. She didn't have those mood-swings that some pregnant mothers had. She was still working even until her eighth month, and the only reason she took her leave was because Remus insisted so. But the moment her water broke, when the two were tending to Payne and Astrid with Irina, Dorcas turned into this screaming monster who shot a jinx at Regulus when the lanky Pureblood stared at the wet patch between her legs instead of going to get Remus, who was in a meeting with Dumbledore and Moody regarding Pettigrew. It was about a week after the filthy rat's escape, and the whole world was still looking for him. When Remus woke the morning after his transformation, the first thing he did was to make sure that both Harry and _Lucius Malfoy_ were alright, because the last thing he remembered was yelling at Malfoy senior to get Harry to safety. Once Regulus, who had stayed to watch over both Remus and Harry, had managed to calm him down, Remus then asked whether he could talk to Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey didn't like it when Regulus told her of Remus' request, but the matron always had a soft-spot for Remus, and immediately sent a Patronus for Dumbledore.

When Remus asked to resign, even Dumbledore was shocked. Everyone knew that Remus actually enjoyed teaching at Hogwarts. But when Remus explained that he really couldn't afford his secret being found out, Dumbledore understood. Marlene suspected differently though. It was no doubt that the fact he'd nearly hurt Harry was bothering him. She could still remember how long it took for everyone to convince the werewolf that it was alright for him to hold Harry. Marlene kept quiet though, because at least the man still managed to keep it together when he was around Harry. He only said goodbye to his Godson before he left Hogwarts and Apparated straight to the Ministry, where Moody had waited for him so they could discuss their plan on not only to find Pettigrew, but also to find Sirius, who was still missing. Harry told her that when Dumbledore told everyone of Remus' departure, _all_ of the students looked disheartened. It seemed like Remus had become everyone's favourite professor in the one-year he spent at Hogwarts.

 _("But don't tell McGonagall that," Harry said quickly as he recounted everything to her, who couldn't help herself when she let out a small chuckle.)_

"Mar, where is my husband?" Dorcas asked while she twisted toward Marlene on her bed, sweat poured down her face as they waited for Remus to come, bringing back Marlene to the present matter at hand. "Where is he?"

"He's coming, Doe," Marlene answered, wiping down her friend's sweat with a towel. "I bet he's coming any minute now."

"All I wanted was to…to have my husband with me when my – oh Merlin, this is _painful –_ my child's born. Is that too much to- AAAH!"

"Mrs Lupin, you need to push now," the Healer said. "You need to push now or – "

 _"SHUT UP!"_ Dorcas snapped, glaring at the Healer who was her second-in-command. "I know I need to push now, dammit. I'm the _bloody_ Chief Healer, Higgins. But I _want_ my husband to be here with me. Right. _Now_."

As if there was a miracle, from outside of the room, they all could hear Remus yelling, " _I'm coming, my love! Don't you worry anymore! I'm coming I'm coming I a g."_

Less than five seconds later, Remus came barging into the room. Marlene had barely enough time to step aside before Remus could push her away. He readily took over Marlene's position, holding onto Dorcas' hand tightly as the normally calm Healer _finally_ agreed to push. The senior Ministry officer initially intended to stay in the room to keep her best friend's company. But when Dorcas threw a _knife_ at Remus, which narrowly missed him and nearly hit Marlene instead, the mother of two decided that she better got out. She then waited outside of the room, sitting beside Harry who was taking animatedly with Irina about how he and Ron caught Hermione hugging Draco tightly before they all boarded the train. On the other side of the room, Regulus was talking to a bunch of St Mungo's staffs about keeping the reporters out, his mannerism reminded Marlene a lot of her fiance, she had to look away so she wouldn't be crying at the sight. The children were left at home with Andromeda, who came with her Tonks and Charlie because the couple were bored out of their minds in their hide-out. The wait felt like ages to Marlene, and she had no idea when she'd dozed off. The next thing she knew, however, was the sound of a loud wail from a newborn baby, and a cheerful shout from Remus.

 _"It's a boy! Oh Merlin, I have a son!"_

When they were finally allowed to see the new parents and their baby, it was almost an hour later. Harry was the first one to come into the room, eager to meet his newest baby _brother._ For someone who was in mid-puberty, Marlene noted how much Harry looked like a little boy as he practically skipped into the room. She followed the boy into the room after motioning Regulus and Irina to come after them. Dorcas was sitting on the bed, her eyes a little droopy but she radiated with the pure joy as she watched her husband with her baby. Remus was sitting on a chair beside Dorcas, protectively holding his son in his arms with a big smile on his scarred face. In all the years Marlene knew the man, the only time Remus looked happier was when he saw Dorcas walked on the other end of the aisle, with James standing by his side as his best man. The moment the new father saw Harry entered the room, his smile, if possible, widened in epic proportion as he beckoned his Godson toward him.

"Come here, Harry!" Remus said cheerfully, seemingly a whole other person as his whole body buzzed in excitement. "Meet the newest addition to our family, kid."

"Hey there, brother," Harry said with a grin. "Don't you look _just_ like your mother?"

"That means he's prettier than you, Remus. Thank Merlin for that," Regulus quipped. Remus merely rolled his eyes but he was still smiling.

"Can I hold him?" Harry asked, rounding his eyes in a way that reminded Marlene of James whenever he asked Lily whether he could do something that Lily might not like.

"Of course," the Auror said, carefully transferring his son to Harry. "You've had enough practise with Payne and Astrid, and Hunter too.. I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Thanks," the boy said but his attention was all set on the baby in his arms. The Gryffindor took the baby to the chair on the corner of the room and soon enough, he was busy entertaining the infant, ignoring the adults in the room.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Marlene asked after she gave the couple a congratulatory hug.

"I'm thinking of Romulus," Dorcas said. When Remus scoffed, she sent him a scathing glare.

"Sure, love. Let's name the poor boy Werewolf McWerewolf the second," Remus drawled monotonously. As if on cue, everyone in the room let out a loud laugh, even Dorcas.

"At least, he's not named _Payne_ like someone's child," Irina said quietly.

"Hey!" Marlene protested, which made the group laughed again.

"That's my wife," Regulus said cheekily, giving a peck on Irina's cheek.

"But seriously, I'm not making my son suffers the same fate as I did," Remus said as they all sobered up. "I'm thinking of giving him a somewhat normal name."

"How about Hero?" Marlene suggested. "I heard it's a name common for boys who were born in June."

"Yeah," Dorcase agreed, beaming up. "Besides, if he's anything like Remus, he'll be a _hero_ just like his father."

"Thanks, Doe," Remus said with a smile and then giving his wife a kiss. "And we can always put Romulus as his middle. Hero Romus Lupin has a nice ring to it."

"If he's friends with Hunter, the both of them will have the catchiest names for a duo," Harry butted in from his seat.

"They will terrorise Hogwarts, no doubt. McGonagall will probably have a fit," Regulus added. Marlene had to agree to that.

"Oh, by the way," Dorcas said to Regulus, as if she just remembered something. "Remus and I want to ask you something, Reg. And Irina too."

"What is it?"

"Well, since Sirius and Marlene have their plates full with Harry – "

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Harry interrupted, sounding annoyed.

" – we want you to be little Hero's Godparents."

Silence. Total silence. Both Regulus and Irina could only stare at the new parents, looking thoroughly shocked. The younger Black brother was the first one to recover though. "We…we are _honoured,_ really. But, are you sure? I mean, I'm _not_ my brother."

"All the more reason why you're the perfect choice. No offence, Mar, but you and Sirius are horrible role-models. Just look at Harry," Remus said, grinning sheepishly. Marlene stuck a tongue out at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, McWolfie," Marlene said, mock-offended. She wasn't though. She actually was very happy that Remus trusted Regulus enough to name the Pureblood his son's Godfather.

"So, will you do it?" Dorcas asked. "It will mean a lot to us if you will. _Please?_ "

"Yes," Irina said, sharing a smile with Regulus who nodded. "Thank you for trusting us. Thank you."

"Here," Harry said, suddenly he was already standing beside Regulus. "Hero needs to properly meet his Godfather."

Marlene didn't realise it at first, but she found herself crying at the sight of Regulus lifting Hero off Harry's arm carefully, the grey in his eyes also shone with happy tears. When the younger Black leaned forward to give a soft kiss on the baby's little head, Marlene was sure that everyone in the room was watching the scene with tears in their eyes as well. She was so happy that after everything her family had been through, at the end of the day, they always found light and happiness.

Now all she needed was for her fiance to come back home.

 _(Come home, Sirius. Come home soon. We all miss you.)_

 _(_ I _miss you.)_

* * *

 _"What do you think about children, mate?"_

 _"They're adorable little buggers. But, I don't think I'm cut out to have one. I mean, haven't you met_ me? _I'm practically a child trapped in the body of an Adonis."_

 _"Ah, yes… I suppose you're right…"_

 _"What? What are you thinking of? I know that tone, Prongs. That means you have something troubling you. So, you better tell me what's on your mind."_

 _"Lily's pregnant, Sirius. I'm going to be a father. And we want you to be our son's_ Godfather. _"_

(And look how many times I nearly _failed_ spectacularly, James.)

Sirius had had a lot of nightmares in all of his thirty five years of living, and most of them were traumatising enough to scare the vilest man on Earth. Even when he was only five, he dreamed of things that no children his age should be dreaming off. Usually, he either woke up screaming his heads off, or he woke up abruptly as if he'd just ran a marathon. But when he woke up that day, he woke rather… _calmly._ He supposed that was because he didn't exactly have a nightmare. It was more like a memory. The thought was pushed aside immediately when he realised he'd woke up on a bed, in a room. After almost a year of wandering around half-dying, sleeping in the forest or on a street, he felt weird sleeping on a bed. Since he escaped, he'd practically crawled across the British Isle to get back to his family. But for the past two weeks, he'd been so weak and tired that he actually had no idea where he'd gone. Looking around, Sirius wondered where he was. The room looked rather familiar to him. It was like something from a dream.

He noticed he was wearing a clean shirt and pajama pants, covering the thick bandages that nearly covered him from top to toe. He heard noises from outside of his room, but after awhile he noted that it wasn't out of distress. It sounded more like a soft-humming, and the gentle clanging of cooking-pots. Back when he still lived in Grimmauld Place, he'd never heard of clanging pots. But ever since he set foot on the Potter household, he often saw Euphemia Potter herself down in the kitchen fixing dinner for her family. He remembered fondly that Lily too, loved to do her cooking herself, which probably made James fell in love even more with her because of how she reminded the bloke of his mother. His curiousity piqued, the Auror slowly lifted himself off the bed, careful not to upset his newly-healed injuries. Out of habit, Sirius looked to the nighstand on his right, searching for his wand. But then he remembered that he lost his wand hat night when he was captured. He could do a little wandless magic, but only to the extent of domestic spells that he learned merely because of his daily needs to help around his house. Sirius finally decided that his lack of a wand wouldn't be dangerous, seeing that if the owner of the house meant him harm, they wouldn't have rescued him. With the thought in mind, Sirius ventured out.

Upon seeing the outside of his room, Sirius once again thought how the house seemed awfully familiar. It took him awihle, with what felt like a mean punch to the stomach, to realise why. He _had_ been in a house like this one before, coming almost every day for around a year, about twelve years prior. _It was James' and Lily's house at Godric's Hollow!_ Right then and there, Sirius felt like he was twenty-one again, free of the burden of the world that he'd been carrying for over a decade. He forgot the reality that he was dealing with, and was convinced that he'd gone back in time – and that everything, all the pain and sorrow he had suffered for the past thirteen years, had all been an awful nighmare that he finally had woken up from. With a big smile on his face, he eagerly went to the kitchen, hoping that he would see his best friends again. He knew from habit that the couple would be in the kitchen, with Lily preparing for dinner while James would be too busy entertaining little Harry with corny tricks from his wand.

"James! Lily!" he called, rounding the corner to where he remembered the kitchen was.

However, it wasn't either of his friends that he found there.

"Oh, _good,_ you're awake," an old woman said. She looked like she was even older than Dumbledore, but still moved swiftly across the room for a woman her age. "You've been out for _weeks,_ young man. It's a good thing I have good intuition, or else you'd starve tonight. I made you chicken soup, see. It's nothing first class, but at least it's food. And judging from the state you're in right now, you look like you need _a lot_ of food."

It didn't take Sirius long to realise who the woman was, thought it did take him quite sometime to recover from his disappointment.

"You're Bathilda Bagshot," the Pureblood said slowly, remembering the old woman who used to help Lily babysitting little Harry.

"I am," the historian answered, smiling lightly as she brought the pot of soup onto the table. She smelled obnoxiously sweet, like Muggle baby powder. "Now, sit, Mr Black. You need to eat. I remember you liked it salty _and_ spicy, so I hope this is to your liking. I have to warn you though, it's not really that spicy because we don't want to upset your stomach."

"You remember me," Sirius said, mindlessly obliging the woman's order to sit.

"Of course, boy. You're not exactly that easy to forget, you know. Especially not when you appear on the front page of Daily Prophet nearly every month with the other boy, Mr Lupin."

"I didn't mean it like that. What I meant was, you remembered me from the time we…when you…"

Sirius trailed off, swallowing thickly when the memory of James and Lily proved to be too much for him. It was easier to think about them, but to talk about them out loud was still hard for him sometimes. Fortunately for him, Bathilda seemed to understand because she casually continued with her answer, acting as if Sirius hadn't choked up mid-sentence.

"I wouldn't be a historian if I didn't have a great memory. Do you have any idea just how extensive my knowledge is, Mr Black? I don't mean to brag, but that's the truth." She stopped, eyeing the untouched soup in front of Sirius in mild-annoyance. "You still haven't eaten."

"Oh, right." Quickly, Sirius scooped huge spoonfuls of the soup into his bowl. "Your house looks so much like their house. That was why I…why I thought James would be here."

"Well, unless you rennovate it, all of the houses here all look the same. Especially the old ones. My house is probably one of the oldest. I've been here for a _long_ time. Back when the Tripple As were still children."

"Tripple As?"

"Yeah. Ingenious little Al, boisterous little Abe, and delicate little Ari. I don't have siblings of my own, you see. So I always love having them around. Look, I even have their picture."

The Auror turned around in his seat so he could take a look at the small frame that Bathilda had just fetched. In her hand, it was a picture of Bathilda, who looked to be around thirty, with three children surrounding her. On Bathilda's right was a tall boy around ten, hands inside the pocket of his robes. On the woman's left was another boy who looked remarkably similar to the first one, which could only mean that they were brothers. The second boy was shorter than his towering brother though, and it made him looked so much younger. The last child in the picture, the youngest of them all, was standing in front of Bathilda, smiling impishly as she held the shorter brother's hand. She was a little girl who looked just like her brothers, excepted she had delicate features. Even though the picture looked really old, it was still in relatively good condition. It didn't take Sirius long to realise who the three children were.

"Are you saying that you knew Dumbledore's family?" Sirius said incredulously. Despite being the greatest wizard in all of Europe, nothing much was really known about Dumbledore's past and private life.

Bathilda nodded. "They were the nicest kids. Very well-mannered, and smart too. But _of course,_ Albus was the smartest of them all. It didn't mean that his siblings weren't brilliant though. While Al was very good at Transfiguration, Aberforth was exceptional good at Charms. Even as kids, their talents were beyond compare."

"I didn't know Dumbledore had siblings," Sirius said stiffly, his old Headmaster's face flashed in mind. "I mean, I know Aberforth. Met him many times at Hogsmeade. We were in the Order together too. But I didn't know about a sister."

He'd known his former Headmaster for over two decades, had followed the man's commands blindly without asking. Only then did the handsome Pureblood realise how _little_ he truly knew of the man that had led them all to war.

"That's understandable. Ariana died many years ago when she was only fourteen. Poor girl. I guess it's better that way, what with her – "

Bathilda stopped abruptly, and was silent for quite sometime that Sirius began to worry. "Uh, Professor Bagshot? Is…is everything all right?"

The woman blinked and made a stiff nod. "Yes, it's just… I'm really sorry but I don't think I can continue. I promised Albus and Aberforth many years ago that I wouldn't tell anyone about their sister. And I'm keeping that promise."

"What? What's so horrible about it that you had to promise them such a thing?"

"You'd have to ask them yourself, my boy… Let's just talk about other things, shall we? I'm sure you're wondering about how I found you."

Sirius knew a lost cause when he saw one, so he obliged. "I do, actually. The last thing I remember was how extremely tired I was, and hungry, and in _so much_ pain."

"I see... Well, I found you just by the Potters' graves. I saw you walked passed my home and went straight to the graveyard. At first, I wasn't entirely sure it was you. So I followed you out there. You tripped a couple times before you reached your friends' graves, and spent quite sometime just standing there. And then you just…fainted."

Memories began to surface bit by bit. He didn't only stand there right in front of his friends' graves. He was… _crying_ his eyes out, begging for their forgiveness for how he'd failed time and time again.

"When I got to you, I found you nearly bleeding out to death from the various wounds you suffered. I patched you up and mended your broken bones too. You should be all right in a few days. But you _have_ to stay here. I heard from Albus what you did. I don't know whether to call you brave or stupid. You could have died, you know."

 _("_ What _were you thinking?" Lily had yelled at him_ that _day. "You could have_ died, _Black.")_

"Thank you for saving me," Sirius said solemnly. "And I promise I won't try to leave. I'll stay."

"Good boy," Bathilda said, looking pleased. "Now, I'll wash the dishes while you go contact your family. I'm sure they'd love to know that you're okay."

"No, let me – "

"I'm not taking no as an answer, young man. Here, use my wand and send them a Patronus. Flooing them would be better, I know, but I'm afraid it's been years since the last time I renewed the Network. I'll get it connected tomorrow though, so you can talk to them better. Make sure you contact Albus too. He'll be glad to know one of his favourite students is all right."

Sirius thanked her once last time as he accepted the wand. Thinking of that time he proposed to Marlene, he conjured his Patronus. A silver-dog came out from the end of the wand, and he recited his message slowly. When he was done, he watched the dog ran through the walls as it headed probably to his home. Sirius could feel himself practically shaking in excitement at the thought that he'd _finally_ see his family again. As he waited for Bathilda to return, he decided to look around and headed to the living room. Bathilda didn't have a lot of things in her house, she didn't even have that many pictures. There were pictures of herself with who Sirius assumed were her parents, Bathilda on her own in front of a crowd when she first published her book, and also another of Bathilda and a young man with fair hair. She looked to be in her early forties in the picture, while the man was only a teenager. He looked awfully familiar to Sirius, but the Auror really couldn't tell where he'd seen the man. There was another picture, hidden behind the first one. It was a picture of teenage Albus Dumbledore standing beside the stranger. Sirius reached out to grab the picture, when his eyes landed on the stack of papers behind it. He picked one randomly to read it.

 _Dear Gellert,_

 _I like your idea about where we could find the Wand. Like we agreed, it's the easiest Hallow to track down. I've prepared everything, and I think we'll be able to live in a month._

 _One more thing: have you ever heard of the Vivian Stone? I heard it's the Stone that Merlin gave to his lover Vivian, the Lady of the Lake. What do you say about us going to find the Stone next? Once we've found the Deathly Hallows. Tell me what you think._

 _Albus_

Chills ran down Sirius' spine. _Gellert._ He found a letter written by someone who could only be Albus _Dumbledore,_ sent to a man who was named Gellert, in the house that belonged to Bathilda Bagshot. His mind flew back to the letter Lily sent him all those years ago, the day after Harry's birthday. When James and Lily died, he spent a great deal of time re-reading that letter in his denial to accept that his best friends had died. As a result, he memorised everything that was on the letter. Lily hadn't believed _it_ at first, but after reading what he just found, Sirius could tell that Bathilda could only be telling the truth. As if on cue, Bathilda came to the living room, her smile dropped instantly when she saw him holding the picture of Dumbledore with the mysterious man – who wasn't _exactly_ that mysterious after all. Sirius was right; he _did_ know that man. He'd seen his face, a lot older than the one in the picture, back when he was still a student at Hogwarts.

Because one did _not_ just forget someone like Gellert Grindewald.

"I have one more question, Professor," Sirius said calmly, his voice sounding weird even to himself.

"And that is?" Bathilda answered stiffly.

"What _is_ the Deathly Hallows?"

"I don't – "

" _Don't lie to me!"_ Sirius said loudly. He wasn't quite yelling yet, but it was enough to make Bathilda flinch. "I _know_ you know a lot more than you do. You wouldn't be Europe's most renown historian if you didn't, Professor. So, _please,_ tell me what you know about the Deathly Hallows. And the Vivian Stone too."

It felt like hours until Bathilda finally made her decision. She sighed loudly as she slumped on a couch not far from where she was. Right then and there, Sirius saw just how _old_ the woman really was. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Bathilda motioned to Sirius to take a seat across her. The Auror awkwardly did as he was told, one hand still holding the picture. He caught how the woman was eyeing the picture, and he grew curious as to how did she know Grindewald.

"How did you come by this letter, by the way?" Sirius asked.

"Albus sent it here," the woman said curtly. "I told you we were neighbours."

"Are you saying that Gellert Grindewald Grindewald lived _here?_ "

"He did. For a few months only."

"Why? Why did he live with you? What's your relationship with Grindewald, Professor?"

"He is my great-nephew."

"He is _what?"_ Sirius exclaimed, jaw dropping.

Bathilda nodded. "He came here to talk to me about the Deathly Hallows. That wasn't the only thing he got. He found Albus, and the two became friends almost immediately. They were really close."

"You're barking. Albus Dumbledore _defeated_ Gellert Grindewald, didn't he? He put the evil bastard in Nurmengard himself."

"A lot happened between the time they were friends and their legendary duel." She paused for awhile, and her eyes looked at the picture in Sirius' eyes. There was an infinite amount of sadness and pity in those again eyes.

And for the first time in _decades,_ Bathilda spoke.


	32. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 1

**NOTES:** Right, so here's the first chapter to Harry's fourth year. I've made some changes to some canon Potter facts. I promise you, it's for the sake of the story. And oh, someone asked me why did I use Snape's infamous "Always" quote to describe Charlie's relationship with Tonks (Third Year, Chapter 5). Well, I actually got that one from Tom Hardy's tattoo. Originally, I only wanted to write "Till I Die" as the end for the chapter. But I thought it lacked something, and the first word that popped in my mind was the word "Always". I didn't even realise it until someone pointed it out to me lol :P Anyway, what do you think of the story so far? Tell me what you think of the story. Happy reading! :)

* * *

 _"Hello, Mar. Sorry it took me this wrong to contact you. I didn't have a wand with me, and trying to steal one was simply impossible in my condition. But I'm okay now. I'm staying with Bathilda Bagshot at the moment. I can't go home yet because Professor Bagshot thinks I'll probably kill myself if I insist on going back home now. But at least I'm fine, right? I promise I'll get home as soon as I can. I'm eating all my vegetables so hopefully, it'll speed up my recovery. Tell Remus that if he's coming, he has to tell me first about it because I don't want him coming here with thirty Aurors that would scare not only Professor Bagshot, but also the Muggles around here… I'm sure by now everyone's gathered around. Hello there! I can't wait till I can finally see you all again. I miss you guys, all of you. Until later, everyone. I love you."_

Harry was having a nightmare when Remus practically carried him off his bed to listen to Sirius' Patronus that had just arrived. It was still early in the morning, probably around four. In his dream, he was in a small house, across a huge one. It was until he woke up that he realised he was seeing things through another person's eyes. The man was eyeing up the huge house across his. With a lantern in hand, he ventured out to the house when he saw light coming out from one of the windows. He heard voices. They were talking about murder. Chills ran down the man's spine when he heard that the voices planned on killing a _boy._ He was just about to run away when he accidentally slipped, making loud noises that alerted everyone of his presence. The last thing he knew was green light coming toward him, and then Harry was woken up.

Even though he was still a little groggy, the moment Remus mentioned Sirius' name, Harry was fully awake at once. The Gryffindor ran toward Marlene's room with the werewolf behind him, and found everyone was already there. He saw how tears fell profusely down his Godmother's face, saw that Regulus had tears as well. He didn't even realise it when his feet had pulled him toward Marlene, ending up with him sitting beside the woman so he could hold her while she cried her eyes out. Hearing Sirius' voice after a year made the boy realised just how much he missed his Godfather. Before he knew it, Harry was crying as well. When the message ended, Marlene burst into sobs, burying her face into Harry's messy hair. Everyone cried in happiness as they realised their beloved Sirius was coming home to them.

"I told you he'll come back," Harry whispered to Marlene. "I told you, Mar."

"I know, love," Marlene said in return, smiling through her tears.

With the news regarding Sirius, Harry forgot about his dream. He was too busy being _happy,_ and spending a lot of time with the babies as the adults in his house bustled around to prepare for his Sirius' return. They didn't even wait until morning properly came to do their work. Remus immediately Flooed Dumbledore, telling him everything, before he sent a Patronus to Moody to alert the Head Auror that he was coming the old man's house - lest he got hexed to bits. Marlene also told her fellow Senior Ministers that her fiance was coming back, but also making sure that the news wouldn't go out to the public until Sirius had really come back home. Dorcas told her Healers to prepare the best medication that could help Sirius in case he had serious injuries, knowing that the Auror was prone to getting critically injured. Regulus told his wife to ready the Elves with a small welcoming feast for his brother, while he went to tell Lucius Malfoy and Kingsley Shacklebot the news. It was almost a week later when Harry remembered about the dream.

The first person he told about the dream was actually Irina. He had gotten so close with the former nurse and her husband that in a way, Harry had considered the couple his uncle and aunt of sort. He was with Irina one day, entertaining the babies after their nap time. They were talking about all sort of things when Irina told him that five years ago, she wouldn't have believed that magic was real. She'd dreamed, hoping that magic was real, just so she could do things right with her parents. That was when Harry accidentally blurted out about how he didn't usually have dreams, only memories and nightmares. He realised it too late that his statement made warning bells rang in Irina's head. The nurse then insisted when was the last time he had a nightmare, totally convinced that Harry had some kind of PTSD because of his tragic childhood. She was persistent about it, and Harry had no choice but to tell her the truth. Easy to say, when Irina told Marlene and Dorcas about it, his Godmothers _flipped._ Then when the women tell Remus and Regulus, those two also gave the same reaction, if not worse.

That was the reason why Harry and his family were heading to Privet Drive number four, on Dumbledore's order, a little over a week after Sirius' message, to visit _the Dursleys_. Remus didn't tell them why Dumbledore thought it was important to visit his mother's sister, except for the part that it would protect Harry. The boy couldn't help but to feel sceptical about it. What did Petunia Dursley and her family have to protect Harry better than the fort-like Black Manor? He thought Dumbledore had gone mad for suggesting such a thing. But he kept it to himself, and grudgingly agreed to the visit. From what Marlene and the Lupins told him, the Dursleys were probaby the most unpleasant ( _"Unpleasant? Horrid is more accurate," Marlene had piped in when Remus tried to describe the family in his typical polite way._ ) people they'd ever known. They had never really met the Dursleys because Sirius was the only one who went with James and Lily when the couple went to see the family to announce that they were engaged. According to the Animagus, James nearly lost it when both Petunia Dursley's husband Vernon insulted Lily.

"I still think this is a bad idea though," Regulus commented when they all stood in front of the Dursley's house, minus the babies because again, they were with Andromeda. Such serious matter couldn't be discussed with children around.

"Why is that, Reg?" Irina asked. She was admiring the flowers planted in the garden, making a note what they were so she could plant them back in the Manor's garden.

"Didn't Remus say that these people _hate_ everything that is related to magic? And here we are, four adult wizards with one teenage wizards, and _only_ one Muggle, coming into their _lovely_ home. I'd be surprised if they didn't call the bloody Muggle Aurors to arrest us."

"They're called the police, mate," Remus corrected. "And I have to admit that you're right. But Harry _wouldn't_ go if the lot of us didn't go."

"Hey, I think that's only fair," Harry protested. "You all asked me to go see the woman who made my mother's life hell, _just_ because she was jealous. No doubt she'd hate my very existence. I need all the support I can get from all of you."

"All right, we get it, Harry," Marlene said, giving a quick kiss to the boy's hair. "We're here with you, right? Now, let's just get this over with."

"Yeah. I'll ring the bell for all of us," Dorcas volunteered.

The Chief Healer had to ring the bell twice until they got some sort of response from the owners of the house. There was a grumpy shout from inside the house before the door was opened, revealing a large, beefy man with purple face that was almost as big as his body. He had dark hair that was already greying for most of the part, and bushy moustache. He wasn't very tall, probably only a little bit taller than Marlene, who was known to taller than most of her female friends and colleagues. The moment he opened the door to them, his little blue eyes that were almost hidden because of all that fat in his face, flashed in barely repressed disgust at the sight of his 'guests'. Harry instantly decided that he hated Vernon Dursley. There was a minute of awkward silence before Vernon shuffled to the aside, allowing Harry and his family to enter the room. From the corner of his eye, Harry saw how Vernon looked around his neighbourhood, as if to make sure that none of his neighbours saw the commotion. Judging from the look on Regulus' face, the Pureblood saw it as well. Harry was about to make a comment about it, when a woman came into the living room, with a mini-Vernon following behind her.

Although Marlene and the Lupins always talked about how different Petunia was compared to her sister, Harry was still sort of expecting her to look a little like his mother. He knew it was unlikely, but there was a little part of the Gryffindor that had hoped that he could see his mother in his aunt, no matter how small that part would be. But the truth was, Petunia was so very different than her sister. Harry always heard how his mother was quite possibly one of the most beautiful woman that Hogwarts had ever seen. His sister, however, was quite the opposite since Petunia was very plain and uninteresting to look at. While Lily was known for her dark red hair that added her beauty, Petunia had dull blonde hair. She didn't share Lily's green eyes and had pale blue eyes instead. Her neck was really long, and when she pursed her lips upon seeing Harry and his family, she rather resembled a horse. It was obvious that she disliked her guests' presence in her house, but she was wise enough to know that she was out-numbered. With a sour look on her face, the woman gestured them to sit on the couch. There was quite a lengthy amount of silence until Remus broke it by introducing everyone.

"Thank you for accepting us to your house, Mrs Dursley," Remus continued politely, ever the good man that he was. "We really wouldn't have bothered you if it weren't for emergency."

"You have a lovely house," Dorcas added, following her husband's example. "Very neat."

"Enough with the small-talk already," Vernon snapped impatiently. "Just tell us why did you come."

"You nasty, filthy Muggle," Regulus drawled menacingly. "Aren't you _just_ charming, you loathsome _filth_? My friends were being nice and _that's_ how you returned it?"

"Regulus, that's enough," Remus said quickly, and Harry couldn't help himself when he was reminded of his Godfather. The resemblance between Regulus and Sirius was intensified greatly during moments like this.

"We'll get to the point then, if that's what you want," Marlene said, her face showing the same distaste her brother-in-law was showing. "Remus, if you please."

"As you know, this is Harry," Remus began, pointing at the Gryffindor. "In case you miss the resemblance, he's Lily's son. So, biologically, he's Petunia's nephew – whether you like it or not."

" _I_ don't like it, personally," Harry quipped, unable to help himself.

"Harry, zip it," Dorcas reprimanded, sending a sharp look in his way. Feeling chastised, Harry shut up immediately.

"Thirteen years ago," the werewolf continued as if he had no interruption. "Your sister and her husband, Harry's parents, were murdered by an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort. He was targeting little Harry, whom he believed would be the reason for his downfall. James and Lily died protecting their son. I don't know whether you remember it or not, but I came here to deliver you the news of their deaths, with my best friend Sirius Black. You wouldn't allow us to come in and tell you about it properly though, so we had to leave a note. It was obvious that you didn't care that your sister had died, something we'd known all along."

Harry watched Petunia clenched her jaw as if she was going to say something. But she didn't, and Remus kept on talking. "There was a wizard named Albus Dumbledore, whom we all trusted and believed very much, and he told us that it would be safer for Harry to live with you, because there's this kind of old magic that came from the sacrifice Lily did the night she died. The magic would protect Harry as long as he lives with Petunia, because you two share Lily's blood. But Sirius wouldn't have it, seeing that he's Harry legal guardian. In the end, Dumbledore relented, especially after he saw how heavily Sirius guarded his home."

"Then why did you come here?" Vernon asked. "Please don't tell me the boy's going to live with us. If he's wanted by some demented creep, I don't want him anywhere near my family."

" _Oh, for Merlin's sake!_ No one is interested in harming you or your family, you fat bastard," Regulus snapped. "Harry's not going to live with you. I doubt his Godparents are going to let him live with such horrible people, no matter how important it is."

"That's true," Marlene said, glaring fiercely at Vernon. "The purpose of our visit is only to tell you that every summer, for a day, Harry's going to come here to renew the protection he has. Voldemort is going stronger, and as much as I hate to say this, the wards in our home are going weaker too. This is the only way Harry's going to be safe. Ideally, he _does_ have to live with you. But I think we all agree that it's not going to happen. No worries, though. This is only until he turns seventeen, when he reaches adulthood. Then we will never have to see you again."

"How long does he have to stay here for every visit?" Petunia said, making a sound for the first time since the visit. "Does he have to stay for the whole day?"

"If he can stand it, then yes," Remus said flatly, ignoring the look Harry threw in his way. "But the very least he's going to stay for five hours."

"One," Harry said, rounding his eyes in the same way his father always did. Unfortunately, just like it was with James, Remus happened to be the only one who was immune to the look.

" _Three,"_ the werewolf said in a final tone. Harry rolled his eyes, knowing that he'd lost.

"And _don't_ even think of giving him grief during his visits," Dorcas added, adopting the same flat tone Remus had. "He's going to have someone with him to make sure _everyone_ is behaving. Irina here is a Mug – a non-magic folk like you too. So it's a win-win solution for all, right? Harry has protection with him, and you still feel comfortable in your own home."

"But make no mistake," Regulus said, eyes narrowed threateningly. "If you hurt _my_ wife, I'm going to _hurt you._ And if you runaway, I'll hunt you down to the end of the world, and make you wish you'd never been born."

When both Vernon and Petunia paled, Harry decided that he liked the look of pure fear in their faces. Between them, their son who Harry was told named Dudley, looked just as scared as his parents were. For the longest time, everyone was silent. So when Petunia spoke, it came as a surprise to everyone.

"You were wrong, you know," she said, her voice wavered a bit in emotion. "I do care about Lily. She's my sister. I _love_ her."

"You _abandoned_ her," Marlene spat, her brown eyes were burning in anger. "Do you know how many letters she sent to you? Even when she'd gone into hiding? _About two thousand and four hundreds._ She sent one _every day_ since her first year in Hogwarts, until the day she was murdered by Voldemort. But you _never_ replied to her. You weren't there when she cried herself to sleep every night, waiting for your reply that never came. _I_ was there. _I_ was the one who saw how it broke her heart that you never replied to her."

" _I was a child!"_ Petunia said loudly, tears now falling down her face. "Yes, what I did wasn't good. Yes, I shouldn't have treated my sister that way. I did it all out of jealous for my _perfect_ little sister who had _everything_ while I was left here, constantly being compared to her. Everyone always talked about how _horrible_ I was to Lily. But _no one_ ever stopped to think about what _I'd_ felt. I bet you'd never lived in someone's shadow, right? If you had, you'd understand why I did what I did."

"Look at what you've done to my wife," Vernon said angrily, his face turning an ugly shade of red. "She's crying because the lot – "

"Vernon, I'm not done," the blonde woman said, shutting up her husband completely. She was still eyeing Marlene coolly, who was glaring at her in defiant. "You don't know it, but I _did_ come to the funeral. I came alone to Godric's Hollow that day. No one knew about it, not even my husband. I was there when you lot came with my sister's body and her husband's. I tried to follow, but then there was a barrier that blocked me out. All I could see for the next two hours was how people popping into the graveyard, and then disappeared as they passed an invisible portal. Because of you, I couldn't be there for my own sister's funeral."

"Yes, yes, what a sad story. We all feel _sorry_ for you, I'm sure," Marlene drawled sarcastically. "But it didn't change the fact that when Remus and my fiance came to tell you about it, you flat out refused them. You didn't give a respond to the note they left. And if you say you had no idea how to reply, I'd blast your horse-face, woman. Lily told me you figured out how to send a letter to Dumbledore back when you were eleven."

"Your fiance turned my Vernon into a _pig_ when I first met him," Petunia replied heatedly. "So excuse me if we were cautious when we saw him in our porch."

"Well, your husband insulted my best friend!"

"Because _her_ husband insulted me first!"

"James wouldn't do that unless provoked. I know him. No doubt your _darling_ Vernon said something that upset him greatly."

"And the note? What about the note?" Dorcas said quickly, to avoid more conflict.

Petunia pursed her lips. "Imagine yourself in my place. Someone who just turned your husband into a pig left you a note saying that your sister was dead. What would you do? Wouldn't you doubt it?"

"She has a point, you know," Irina said before Marlene could reply. "If I were her, I'd probably do the same thing."

For the second time that day, everyone fell silent. Both Marlene and Petunia looked like they were about to rip each other's hair off, with Dorcas ready to shoot a spell to stop them. This time, it was Remus who broke the silence, when he let out a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"All right then, Mrs Dursley. I'm sorry for saying that you don't care about Lily. Now, can we _please_ continue on a more important matter? Like, do you mind if Harry spend at least three hours here at your home every summer for a day?"

"Of _course,_ we bloody mind!" Vernon answered loudly, without missing a beat. "After you've just insulted my wife, now you're asking whether we _mind_ if you use our house as a hide-out? No, thank you, sir. You can now leave."

"No," Petunia said, causing everyone to look at her in shock and disbelief. Even she herself looked surprised with her own decision. "The boy...the boy can come. But, as a change, _I_ want to be able to visit Lily's grave anytime I want to."

"No problem," Remus agreed easily. He grabbed two Galleon coins from his pocket, tapped his wand on both coins, and then gave one to Petunia. "That is a Galleon coin. I put on a spell on it called the Protean Charm. Whenever you want to visit Lily's grave, you just need to write down the date and time on it, and they will appear on the coin I have. Then I'll send someone to take you to visit the grave. You don't have to worry about dirtying the coin though. The writings will disappear as soon as you write them."

Petunia eyed the coin for sometime before she said, "C-can I try it? Just to make sure it works."

"Sure," Remus said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Dudders, go get Mummy's pen," Petunia told her son, to which he quickly obeyed. For someone who was so large, Harry was amazed at how fast Dudley could move, returning not even a minute letter. Petunia then wrote her name on the coin, and just like Remus said, it disappeared. The werewolf then showed the woman his coin, where her name was written on the surface.

"So, it's settled then?" Dorcas said when Petunia pocketed her coin. "Harry will come back here next year, probably around the middle of June, spending at least three hours for a day. Do we have an agreement here?"

"Yes," Petunia answered stiffly.

"Very well. It's only been a little over two hours, but I guess that's enough for today," Remus said, lifting himself up from his seat. He was soon followed by everyone. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mr and Mrs Dursley. We'll see you again next year."

Harry and his family had just gotten out of the house when Petunia called, "Harry?"

Shocked, Harry stopped abruptly. When he turned around, his aunt was standing behind him, wring her hands awkwardly. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yes, A-aunt Petunia?"

Petunia swallowed heavily, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear as she shook her head. "It's just… I- I want to see my sister's eyes. That's…that's my Lily there. In your eyes."

Many years later, Harry would remember it as the first and last time he looked into Petunia's eyes, even though he visited her three more times until his seventeenth birthday. He saw all kinds of emotions flashed in his aunt's pale eyes; sadness, regret, guilt, happiness, and even gratitude. The woman then awkwardly ruffled his hair before she hastily went back into the house, head bowed down. He tried to pretend that he didn't notice it, but he saw the tears that fell down profusely, and heard the broken sobs that the woman let out.

* * *

"How do I look?"

"You know I'd say you look like an angel no matter what, love. I'm a little bias when it's you."

" _Ugh,_ you're not helping. Just pretend that I'm another girl."

"Why does it important for you to look good? We're only visiting your cousin."

"I want to give a good impression. We're meeting one of Europe's best scholars. I want Professor Bagshot to like me."

"You're impossible to dislike. Everyone likes you. Well, except for Lucius Malfoy. That git likes no one."

"Seriously, just humour me? Do you think I look good?"

"Anything for you, love… Hm, I think pale-blue doesn't suit you. I prefer pink or purple. And even though the pixy-cut is smoking hot, old people usually like it better when women have long hair."

"You're right, I suppose. Hold up for a second… Now, how do I look?"

"You look like another session with our beloved bed. And our bathroom. Probably the kitchen too."

"Merlin, you're _unbelievable_."

Charlie let out a laugh at his girlfriend's comment. When Tonks pouted in annoyance, he couldn't stop himself from giving her a quick kiss because he thought she looked adorable. "All right, I'll stop. I just can't help myself when I'm around you. I'm hopelessly in love with you, Tonks."

Tonks rolled her eyes but judging from the huge smile on her face, she was pleased. "Whatever, Romeo. Hold back the charm there. Remus is going to arrive in a few minutes. We need to focus. Do you have everything prepared?"

"Yes, of course. We'll just have to wait for him."

"No need to wait for any longer, kids," Remus said, suddenly opening the door. "I'm here already."

"How long have you been there?" Charlie asked, scowling at the werewolf as he reluctant let go of his girlfriend. The werewolf merely shrugged.

"Just now. I Flooed here just awhile ago. When I didn't find you there, I figured you're probably up in your room. So, I decided to come here. Thank Merlin I didn't catch you in compromising positions."

"Yes, definitely. And thank you for appreciating our _privacy,_ " Tonks said sarcastically. "Shall we go now?"

They didn't waste anymore time and quickly headed to Godric's Hollow, where Sirius had been staying with Bathilda Bagshot. Just a few days prior to their trip, Charlie finally found the name of the family prodigal Seer from the list Moody gave him. There were around _a thousand_ Purebloods born in the 1980s in all of Europe, according to the list Moody gave him. But, excluding the Romanians themselves, approximately only ninety of them had Romanian descendants. Out of those ninety, only _three_ were from England. They were the Shafiqs, the Prewetts, and the Fawleys. The last known Shafiq had married into the Shacklebot family in 1938. They were none other than Kingsley Shacklebot's grandparents. He researched about the family, and when he found out that the last known Seer in the family was in 1878, Charlie moved on to the next family. Charlie knew for a fact that the Prewett bloodline died with the deaths of his uncles Fabian and Gideon, his mother's twin brothers, though it continued through the female with his mother's marriage to his father. Just like the Shafiqs though, the last known Seer in the family was recorded back in the late 1800s.

That was when he moved to the Fawleys. According to the books he read ( _courtesy of Sirius' private library),_ the Fawleys were still related to celebrated Seer Cassandra Vablatsky. Unlike the two families, there were still quite a few Fawleys that were still alive. One of them even went to school with Ron. He was a Hufflepuff named Sullivan. However, when Charlie searched more about the family, he found that there was a Pandora Fawley that married one Xenophilius Lovegood in 1979. They had a daughter named Luna Lovegood in 1981. That was when his memory was triggered, and he had a flashback about how he found out that the last known prodigal Seer was none other than Romanian witch Cassandra Vablatsky. It didn't take him long to make the connection. When he told Moody about it, the Head Auror told him to talk to Remus. At first, Charlie was a little confused as to why he had to talk to England's favourite Auror about his finding. But when Remus revealed that he'd witnessed himself how Luna Lovegood predicted Sirius' attack, Charlie understood why. It was not even a day later when Sirius sent them a Patronus, talking about powerful magical artefacts called the Deathly Hallows and the Viviane Stone – also known as Eye of the Lake. Knowing just how powerful the Stone was, Charlie told Remus that they had to see Sirius to discuss about it.

Three days later, they were making their trip to Godric's Hollow, as well as picking up Sirius.

"Hello!" Bathilda Bagshot greeted them when she opened the door, a kind smile on her face. She was eyeing Remus fondly. "I remember you, my dear. You're Remus, aren't you? The kind and gentle one of your loud bunch."

"That was just an act," a voice said as a man stepped into view. "Our Moony has always been good when it comes to giving an impression."

There, standing in all his Pureblood glory, a little too thin and weary for everyone's liking, but at least _alive,_ was Sirius Black.

Charlie and Tonks thought that they'd be nice and let the two best friends had their moment while he and his girlfriend introduced themselves to Bathilda.

"Padfoot," Remus breathed, his face spliting into a huge smile as he nearly smothered his best friend in a hug. "Merlin's beard, mate; I really missed you."

"I always know you have feelings for me," Sirius joked, his own face was also beaming with the gigantic smile. "I missed you too, mate."

"What happened, Sirius? Malfoy told us you ran away after he helped you," Remus said once they finally pulled apart.

"I'll give you all the details inside, my friend. Now let me greet my cousin first." Giving Tonks a wink, Sirius turned to hug the Metamorphmagus. "Long time no see, cous. You look hot _and_ happy. Domestic life suits you, it seems."

"Stop running around recklessly like hero, will you?" Tonks said seriously, even though she was still grinning. "You're going to give my mother a heart attack at this rate you're going."

"Sorry, kid. I promise this will be the last time." The Auror then gave a grin to Charlie. "Hullo. I see you're taking care of my cousin really well, boy. Good for you. I'm glad you survive her daily morning-crankiness in one piece."

"Thank you," Charlie said with a smile. "And it's really nice to see you again, Sirius."

Once they were done with all the greetings, Sirius led them all inside the house, following the owner of the house. Bathilda then made an excuse to give them some privacy, saying that she was going to make them something to eat for lunch. Sirius thanked her and immediately began with his story about his escape from the Death Eaters' clutch. Remus was listening with rapt attention to Sirius' story, his knuckles turned white from gripping his own knee-caps when he listened to how Sirius was tortured. Charlie realised that the version Sirius told him could only be the censored, simplified version. But even then, Charlie knew first-hand how horrible the torture must be. About fifteen minutes later, Bathilda returned with a cup of tea for everyone, before going back to the kitchen to continue with her cooking. It was then that Remus told Charlie to tell Sirius what he'd found. The former dragonologist relayed everything he found, making sure that he left nothing behind. He went as far as showing his notes that he took from his research, feeling a little nervous when both Sirius and Remus read them with a serious look on their faces. Sure, technically the both of them were family-friends. But it didn't change the fact that they were two of the greatest Aurors in Europe.

"So, are you saying that the Death Eaters are after Luna Lovegood?" Sirius asked after he was done reading all of the files.

"Well, not exactly," Charlie began slowly. "They're after the prodigal Seer, which is Luna. But they don't know yet about her. They only know that _I_ know who the Seer is. Hence why they're after me."

"And what are they going to do with her? If they ever catch her?" Remus said.

"They're going to force her to alter our reality. Change something from the past. Basically, make her a pawn that will help You-Know-Who winning the war."

Sirius let out a string of curses. Running a hand through his hair, he said, "Damn. And here I thought my news would be interesting."

"What did you find, Sirius?" Tonks asked. "Remus told us that you found something about the Eye of the Lake."

"I prefer to call it the Viviane Stone. The Eye of the Lake is quite a mouthful." He got up from his seat and went to the shelf by the fireplace, grabbing a stack of parchment and a picture-frame. When he returned to his seat, he looked tense. "What I am going to tell you now is probably the biggest secret that the world's ever known. You have to _swear_ that you won't tell anyone about it."

"Cous, I'm insulted that you think so little of me and Charlie," Tonks said, clearly upset. "Do you forget _you_ are the one who taught me about keeping secrets?"

"I know you two can be trusted. I just want to hear it. I'm not joking, Tonks. A lot of people would pay big money to read what's on this parchment." He randomly picked one and waved it in their way.

"What is it anyway?" Remus quipped.

Charlie realised right then and there that Sirius Black wasn't know for his theatrics for nothing when he made a dramatic pause before he continued.

"It's a letter sent by Albus Dumbledore to Gellert Grindewald himself. There are more here."

The silence the erupted between them was defeaning.

 _"That is insane!"_ Tonks exclaimed. "Didn't Dumbledore defeated Grindewald? It was one of the first things we learned back during Auror training."

Then Sirius began the story of what he'd found regarding Dumbledore's past. Bathilda told him everything that happened between Dumbledore and Grindewald. Throughout the story, Charlie could hardly believe what he was hearing. Gellert Grindewald was probably the _vilest_ wizard in the world, second only to Voldemort. But in Charlie's own opinion, he was sure that the rest of the world would say that Grindewald was worse than Voldemort. The latter was only known around Britain, and probably Europe. Grindewald, on the other hand, had crossed all the way to the United States and wrecked havoc over there as well. There was also the fact that while Voldemort was driven with manic blood-lust, from what Sirius told them, according to Bathilda's story, Grindewald wasn't like that. He realised what he did was wrong, and that just made him all the more frightening. Charlie's head felt like bursting from all of the new information when Sirius told him that Grindewald too, was a Seer. It made more sense why his movement was more organised than Voldemort. He probably predicted everything before he did it.

"So, there's probably a chance that he's predicted himself coming here, to see Dumbledore?" Remus asked. He was looking at the picture of young Dumbledore with Grindewald. Looking at the cheery smile on Grindewald's face, Charlie couldn't help himself but to be reminded of his twin brothers. The thought was scary how someone who looked so care-free grew up to be a mass murderer.

"I doubt that," Sirius said after awhile. "From what Bathilda told me, he was rather surprised when he met Dumbledore. Grindewald was very arrogant. He believed himself to be the greatest wizard in the world, probably second only to Merlin. Bathilda told me that he seemed to genuinely like Dumbledore because of how brilliant our old Headmaster was – _is."_

"Did they find the Hallows though? And the Stone?" Charlie asked. He held back a flinch when he imagined two brilliant wizards conquering the world with the most powerful magical artifacts.

"I don't know. Bathilda lost contact with Grindewald after he ran away. She didn't say what happened between him and Dumbledore that ruined their friendship and drove Grindewald to run away, but I suppose it was extremely terrible. But Bathilda's almost convinced that Grindewald didn't find either artefacts, and Dumbledore let go of his ambition after Grindewald left."

"What are the Hallows anyway?" Tonks inquired. "Why does no one know about it? If they're that powerful, people should have been racing to find them."

"Oh, we do know about it," Sirius answered flatly. "They're the same objects from the story _The Three Brothers._ The one from Beedle the Bard."

Charlie felt his jaw dropped. "Wait, a minute. Are you saying that the three brothers were _real?_ "

"Yeah, they were the Peverell brothers. They were probably just brilliant wizards who invented all these brilliant stuffs, because it'd be unlikely for literal Death to give them all those gifts. Antioch, the oldest, was the one who wielded the Elder Wand – _a wand more powerful than any in existence_. Grindewald claimed that he found the Wand, but I don't think so. If he did, Dumbledore wouldn't have defeated him, right? Then there was the second brother, Cadmus. He was the one with the Stone of Resurrection – the stone with _the power to recall others from Death._ Lastly, there was Ignotus, the third brother. He was the kind and wise one of the three brothers. He had the – "

Sirius froze, freezing mid-sentence as his eyes widened in epic proportion. He looked to Remus, who shared the look in his eyes. Then, almost as if on cue, they both said, " _Harry."_

"Harry? What's wrong with Harry? What's the relation between the third Hallow and Harry?" Tonks quickly asked, sensing the worry radiating off the two friends.

"The week before James died…" Remus said slowly. "Didn't you tell me that – "

"Yes," Sirius whispered. "That was how Harry got _it_ in the first place, right? _He_ gave it to him."

"Who? Who gave what to Harry?" Tonks tried asking one more time.

Both senior Aurors didn't answer. They merely stared at each other, probably communicating telepathically. It felt like hours when they both snapped out of it and practically jumped off the couch. Quickly gathering all the files on the research, those from Charlie and from Sirius as well, the Pureblood Auror stuffed them into his best friend's hands before zooming to the kitchen.

"Bathilda, we're leaving!" Sirius's voice was heard.

"But you haven't eaten!" Bathilda said. "I'm about to finish, dear. Just wait a few minutes then – "

"No," Sirius said, going into the living room with Bathilda behind him. "I'm _really_ sorry but we have to leave. It's really important."

Charlie felt guilty when he saw how disappointed Bathilda looked. He could only imagine how long it had been for her since the last time she had guests. But she got over it quickly, giving Sirius an understanding smile. "All right. Off you go to save the world. Give my regards to Albus, okay?"

"Don't worry, Professor," Remus said as he shook the historian's hand. "We _are_ going to see him."


	33. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 2

**NOTES:** Hullo! Here's the new chapter for you. I'm sorry if this chapter is rather short and only have one part. But I like this chapter though. I hope you guys like it too :) Tell me what do you think - but _no flames._ Happy reading! :D

* * *

 _(Perce,_

 _I got it. I got into the team. Well, only as the reserve Keeper though. But that's a start, yeah? I have to say, it's so weird playing with people you haven't known for years. It's weird not seeing your brothers, not seeing the girls, not seeing Harry. I kind of miss them, really. (Don't tell Fred and George I said that or you're dead the next time I saw you.) But oh well, that's life, I suppose. You just have to move on, right? At least the guys here all nice. And I think if I don't get to play in the next five years, I'll look into other teams – like you told me to._

 _I heard about what happened, by the way. Personal assisstant to Barty Crouch senior himself. Wow, mate. That's bloody awesome! Congratulations, okay? Not all fresh-graduates immediately get a job, you know? Especially not one as prestigious as yours. I am so proud of you, Perce. I told you that you could do it, didn't I? You're one step closer to becoming the youngest Prime Minister, I bet._

 _Oh yeah, I just moved out. I live in London now. My flat's not much, but it's enough. I think. Come visit me, if you want to. We can celebrate your achievement. There's this real good restaurant near my flat. The food is really good. You'll like it. Tell me if you're coming, okay?_

 _Oliver.)_

"Eggs?"

"And some sausages."

"Right. I'm making tea. Want some?"

"I think I'll take coffee instead. My head's _killing_ me."

"Serves you right for chugging that Firewhiskey."

"Shut up, you great git. It's your fault."

"Whatever. Here's your coffee."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"You're still a git."

"Go take a look in the mirror."

Percy rolled his eyes but he couldn't hide the grin off his face. He had only been home for a week when he received that letter from Oliver. The ginger didn't waste his time and almost immediately asked his mother whether he could go visit his boyfriend – not that he told his mother about his relationship with Oliver. The subject of one's sexuality never became a discussion for the wizarding community, but Percy knew his parents were rather old school. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, because being with Oliver for the past few months was the happiest he had been in his entirely life and he fully intended on telling his family about it. But he wasn't ready about how they would react. He felt guilty when he told Oliver that he still hadn't told his parents about their relationship. But the Scott, blessed his heart, gave him an understanding smile and told him to take as long as he wanted to. It was probably because Oliver himself admitted that he hadn't told his parents as well, for the same reason as Percy. They'd agreed to keep it a secret in Hogwarts, and they agreed to keep it a secret again until it looked like the right time to tell their family.

Oliver looked pretty calm about the prospect of telling his parents. Percy suspected it was because the guy was very easy-going in the first place, and the fact that he was an only child helped. He wouldn't have to worry about what the rest of his family thought of him. All his life, Percy was never really appreciated by _anyone_ in his family. Even when he told his family about him getting the position as Crouch's assistant, his mother was the only one who reacted positively, while his father merely gave him a smile and quick pat on his shoulder. Bill's reaction was a copy of their father, Charlie was too busy doing Merlin-knew-what with his girlfriend, and the rest of his siblings teased him mercilessly about it. He knew Ron always felt like he was the odd duck out of the seven of them. But Percy realised that _he_ was the one who didn't fit it in his family. Bill was the most perfect one, Charlie was the coolest one, Fred and George were the most likeable, Ron was the celebrity in their family by befriending Harry, and Ginny was the baby and special child. Percy? He hardly mattered. Everyone always overlooked him. That was partly why he jumped on the chance to leave his house and stay with Oliver.

That, and the fact that he missed the Scott like _crazy._

Staying with Oliver didn't feel as weird as he thought it would be. Probably it had something to do with the fact that he'd shared dorms with the brunet. The moment Percy set foot in Oliver's flat, his boyfriend practically tackled him in a hug. Back in Hogwarts, because they agreed to keep their relationship a secret, it was harder for them to truly _be_ a couple. They spent a great deal of time together, even more than before. But that was just it. They didn't dare to do anything more. Percy could even count in one hand how many times they kissed. Staying with Oliver changed _everything_. The Scott only had one bedroom, one bathroom, a cramped living room, and a kitchen that also functioned as the dining room. They originally intended for Percy to sleep on the couch in the living room. But it was safe to say that after they celebrated their achievement in that restaurant Oliver told him in his letter, they found that it was more practical for Percy to sleep in Oliver's room.

"What did your parents say about you working for Crouch?" Oliver asked as he gave Percy a plate of eggs and sausages before he took the seat across Percy.

Percy took his time before answering by taking a huge bite of his egg. He grimaced when the freshly cooked egg burned his tongue. "Mum was ecstatic. Dad was…appreciative."

"Hm…" Oliver hummed softly, and Percy made it a point to avoid Oliver's brown eyes when he stared at him knowingly. "What about your brothers? And Ginny?"

"You know them," was the curt response Percy gave. He bowed his head down and busied himself with the tedious job of cutting his food. When Percy reached out to touch his hand, he relaxed and let go of his utensils.

"Percy, I want you to know what I'm _so_ proud of you, okay?" Oliver said. "I know that I'm not exactly the person you want to hear those words from. But at least, I'll be here to say that for you. And I mean it, Perce. I really do."

"I know," Percy said, still avoiding Oliver's eyes. "And it's okay, really. I'm used to it."

The moment he felt Oliver's hand tightened around his, Percy realised his mistake. He thought the bloke would start to rant about how bad his family treated him. But when Oliver didn't, he was thankful. The last thing he wanted was for Oliver to get worked up about how Percy lacked the attention he deserved from his family. He really appreciated it when Oliver snatched the new issue of the Daily Prophet and began to talk about Quidditch World Cup. His whole family was going to watch the final match - Ireland versus Bulgaria - courtesy of Harry's family. The Black-Lupin family were going as group with the Malfoys as well. Percy heard from Ron that Harry's family also took Neville Longbottom with them because his grandmother couldn't accompany the boy, while the Malfoys paid for Hermione Granger's ticket. He felt really bad when he told Oliver about it, who couldn't go because tickets weren't exactly cheap. But just a few days later, he received an anonymous mail of a single ticket, which happened to be the _last_ ticket for the top box that was only for the official guests and VIP audiences, the area that the Black-Lupin and Malfoy families booked specially for them.

At first, Percy was a little worried, fearing that the ticket was jinxed. So he ran a few tests that he learned from Flitwick. The ticket turned out to be just that, a normal ticket. When he told Oliver of the extra ticket, the Keeper was both thankful and curious. They decided to ask Ron to ask Harry whether he sent another ticket. The reply that came wasn't from Ron though. Surprisingly, it was from _Hermione Granger._ She wrote that she was sorry she'd intercepted their letter, but then explained that it was a secret gift from her blond boyfriend. She said that it was a thank-you gift for saving his life. For some reasons, Percy felt like the blond _knew_ the truth of his relationship with Oliver. After all, the kid was there in the Astronomy Tower that night, even if he was barely conscious. Then there was the fact that the Slytherin was also there to witness the argumentation he and Oliver had in front of the Fat Lady. He wanted to ask the blond about it, but changed his mind in the last minute. If he was wrong, he was risking so much. But if he wasn't, he kind of trusted Draco to keep it a secret. From the way Hermione talked, it seemed like she had no idea that Percy and Oliver were together. So the newly graduated Gryffindors merely sent the Malfoy heir a letter expressing their gratitude. Draco, truly the awkward and aloof git that he was, only wrote a short reply in his letter:

 _It's nothing. Don't make a fuss about it._

If it wasn't for the fact that he just bought Oliver a ticket for the World Cup, Percy would probably send another letter saying how much of a _prick_ that blond Slytherin was. But Percy held himself, and went on to prepare himself for the trip. That was three days ago. As they finished their breakfast, Percy glanced at his watch, realising that he was supposed to meet his family at the Burrow soon. He told his family Oliver was coming, but he left out the part that the Malfoys bought Oliver his ticket. Deciding that it would be quicker to split their chores, Percy told Oliver to go check their stuffs for one last time before he got dressed while Percy cleaned the dishes. It was almost half an hour later when they were ready to Apparate to his house. Once they were there, he was a little taken-aback when his mother hollered at him to hurry up and touch the Portkey. ( _"Why does it have to be a stupid boot? Why can it be something cooler like a broom?" George protested.)_ He quickly did as he was told, squeezing himself and Oliver as well between Ron and Ginny. He felt the familiar, dizzying sensation of the Portkey as they were Transported away, and in no time, he found himself by the entrance of the camp-site.

The area they were staying at was set quite far from the rest of the other campers, what with the three huge tents that they had. The first tent was the biggest one, consisted of the parents and their babies; Sirius and Marlene with their children, Regulus and his wife Irina with their daughter, Remus and Dorcas and their newborn son, Percy's parents, and the Malfoys. The second tent was for the older kids; Bill, Charlie and Tonks, Percy, the twins, and Oliver. The last tent was for the rest of the kids; Harry, Ron, Neville, Draco, Ginny and Hermione. Percy later heard from his brother Bill that it took a lot of convincing from Narcissa for her husband to agree about sharing the tent with the others. The smug Pureblood originally wanted a private tent. But Narcissa agreed with Sirius that after Lucius practically declared his loyaly to the Order, it would be better for them to stay together in the highly-protected tent with everyone else. In the end, Lucius agreed, albeit grudingly. Percy found it hilarious that even someone like Lucius was helpless when it came to his wife's demands.

They had a lot of fun the whole day, even for Percy who always too serious for his own good. As they waited for the games that would start sometime before night fell, everyone spent their time doing whatever they found interesting. Sirius and Remus were too busy reviewing the wards around the camp-site, being the top Aurors they were. Regulus and Lucius joined them sometime after lunch, and their discussion changed about the secret matters regarding the Sacreds. Percy overheard that even though Sirius was back, the role as Head of the Sacreds was still held by Regulus. The position of Head of the Black family went back to Sirius, but the brothers agreed that it would be more effective if Regulus helped by watching over the Sacreds. The ladies, on the other hand, were busy talking about their crazy children and pigheaded men. Percy couldn't help the laugh that escaped him when he saw the annoyed expression on his brother Charlie's face at the sight of Tonks joining the conversation, complaining about the former dragonologist's stubbornness. Charlie ended up sulking as he went off to Bill, who clapped his younger brother's affectionately on his shoulder before they started to talk about big-brother stuffs. The twins and the rest of the boys were listening with rapt attention to Harry's stories about his father's escapades with Sirius and Remus back when they were still students. Hermione and Ginny spent their day in their shared-bunk talking about Merlin-knew-what.

Percy and Oliver, seeing that everyone was too busy, saw it as chance to have some _private_ time.

 _(They didn't realise two pair of eyes watching them when the couple got back. They didn't realise how Draco tried to hide his knowing grin and quickly averted his gaze when Harry asked him what he was grinning about. They didn't realise how Bill cocked an eyebrow in amusement, the gears in his brilliant mind began to work as they came up with the only possible conclusion.)_

Everyone had early dinner together before the match. Percy was really excited when they Ludo Bagman came to visit them with Barty Crouch senior. The Deputy Head for the Department of International Magic was there to talk to Marlene, who was his boss. It was obvious that Crouch _hated_ the fact that he had to answer to someone who was young enough to be his daughter, but the senior Minister did a decent job in hiding it. Percy noted weirdly that when Crouch saw Regulus, utter fury coloured the old man's eyes as the younger Black made it a point to look away. He found it really interesting when Sirius seemed to realise that Crouch disliked not only his wife, but his brother as well. Almost instantly, the Auror made a protective gesture by standing beside his wife and directly asked Crouch why the older man was staring at his brother. Crouch looked like he was about to rise up to the bait, but his eyes landed on Percy. Something flashed in Crouch's eyes, something that told Percy his boss would give him hell just for the fact that he was _chummy_ with the Black family. The ginger only relaxed when he felt Oliver discreetly ran his knuckles on the side of his legs.

"I'm sure Miss McKinnon wouldn't mind to give you some help if Crouch fired you," Oliver muttered after making sure no one was listening. "So, don't you mind about him, okay?"

"Yeah," Percy breathed, letting out a heavy sigh as he tried to cheer himself up with the thought. He gave Oliver a thankful smile, genuinely grateful that he had the Scott with him. "I'm glad that you're here with me."

"Me too," Oliver replied. He then let out a small chuckle as an idea seemed to pop in his mind. "Do you know when is Malfoy's birthday? Because I _really_ think we should give him a present. Just to show him our gratitude."

"If you're talking about me," Draco said, suddenly already standing behind the two young men, surprising them. The look on the blond's face was completely unreadable. "My birthday is on the 5th of June. You just missed it, actually. But if you're talking about my father, his birthday is on the 17th of August. You two still have time. Whoever it was that you're talking about, both my father and I would appreciate the gift."

Then, just as quickly as he came, the blond walked away, headed toward his Muggle-born girlfriend.

"I didn't even hear him coming," Oliver commented. "How long do you think he's been there?"

"I have no idea," Percy said honestly, eyes still watching the blond, who was now mocking Ron over his obsession with Viktor Krum.

"Everyone, let's go!" Sirius said when Oliver was about to reply. "The match is about to start. Stay close together, okay? I don't want anyone walking around without being supervised."

"Who are you and what have you done with my Godfather?" Harry said, looking mock-scandalised. "You're _actually_ acting like a responsibled adult, Padfoot."

"Oh, shut up, you little punk," Sirius said, rolling his eyes even as he tried to hide his grin. "I already have the _whole_ campsite to worry about. And I _know_ you, Harry James Potter. So be a good boy, sit next to your friends, and watch the game, okay?"

"Alright, alright," the Boy-Who-Lived said, waving his hand in mock-surrender. "It's not like I'm going to wander around during a final match anyway."

"Good boy." This time, it was Remus who said so. "Now, come on. Let's just go."

Through out the match, Percy was found himself enjoying everything more than he could possibly imagine. Sure, he was still very reserved when it came to expressing himself whenever the Irish scored. But that didn't mean he wasn't having fun. Everyone seemed to be having fun as well. Even the normally stoic Lucius looked like he was having problem containing himself when his wife and son were cheering loudly. The two Black brothers were exceptionally loud the whole time, jumping up and down like little children over almost everything. It was only then did Percy remember that the brothers were known to be brilliant Quidditch players in their time. Sirius was a Beater for Gryffindor with Neville's father, and Regulus was Seeker for Slytherin. They were probably the only ones who were more excited about the match than Oliver, who was practically buzzing in all the excitement. Percy watched with an unconscious grin on his face at the various reactions Oliver showed through out the match. When Ireland finally won, despite Bulgaria having caught Snitch, Percy didn't realise it when he'd cheered along with the rest of his family and every single Ireland's supporter's in the stadium. All that joyous energy was too much for him to resist.

The journey back to their camp was rather long. The whole time, everyone couldn't stop talking about the match. The four fourth-year boys were talking animatedly, recounting every goal that was scored. The twins were busy counting the money they got from their bet with Ludo Bagman, careful not to be seen by their parents. Hermione kindly listened to Ginny's babbling, even if the bookworm looked completely at lost. Percy and Oliver joined his brothers and Tonks talking about it as well, even though Percy mostly kept quiet as he watched his boyfriend talked to Charlie, who was technically his idol when it came to Quidditch. Even the adults couldn't stop themselves from discussing the match. But it was awhile later when Percy noticed that Sirius was weirdly quiet. He was glancing around, his grey eyes alert. Judging from the way he kept his wand-hand in his pocket, Percy knew that the Auror had a tight grip around his wand. Remus was the first one to notice Sirius' weird behaviour, always in-tune with his best friend. The two talked in hushed tones, lest that they'd scare everyone with their suspicion. When they carefully moved closer to Regulus and Lucius to talk about whatever they just discussed, Percy's heartbeat quickened in worry. Instinct told him that whatever the two talked about was serious, and Percy readily gripped to his wand with one hand while his other hand reached to grab Oliver. The sudden contact surprised the Scott, and when he faltered in his words, it attracted his brothers' attention as well. Percy didn't even care what Bill and Charlie thought when they saw the way Percy was holding onto Oliver's hand tightly. For all he knew, they could be attacked anytime. Speculations be damned, he didn't want to risk it.

And he was right when their tents, just when they were only a few meters away, exploded.

Percy barely had enough time to cast the Protego Charm around him and Oliver. He could still feel the heat from the flames as he used his own body to cover Oliver instinctively. When he felt a shift in the air, he knew that the wards around them – around the whole campsite even – had collapsed. He heard Sirius, Remus, Regulus and Lucius shouted out spells, and only then did Percy realise the fifteen _Death Eaters_ that surrounded them. From the corner of his eye, he saw that everywhere else fire was engulfing the campsite. Spells were flying everywhere, loud screaming was tearing the night. Percy narrowly dodged a hex that flew over his head when he dragged Oliver with him toward Ginny and Hermione, who were curling on the ground to avoid stray hexes. His father and Tonks had joined the rest of the men to fight off the Death Eaters, and they all went to rescue other campers once they'd defeated the majority of the Death Eaters that attacked them. He noticed that the women were missing, and for a split second, he thought they were taken away. It was only when he saw Irina and her daughter Disapparated away with his mother that Percy realised the women had gone first with the babies. Before Disapparating, Percy heard his mother told him and his older brothers to get his siblings and the other children back to the Burrow. He saw Bill Disapparated with the twins while Charlie went with Draco and Neville. With great terror, Percy realised that his brother and Harry weren't there.

"Where's Ron and Harry?" Percy yelled at Oliver, sending out a jinx at a nearby Death Eater. The four of them were running and dodging, trying to fight the remaining Death Eaters long enough to find Harry and Ron.

It took Oliver awhile answer because he was busy fending off his own side. "I don't know. I can't see – _there! They're right there!"_

About fifty metres from where they were, Harry and Ron were running away from three Death Eaters, the former sending jinxes after jinxes at the Death Eaters who were firing curses at them rapidly. Percy knew that he had no choice but to go after the two boys. Looking at Oliver, he said, "You go with my sister and Hermione. I'll save the boys."

"Be careful," Oliver said tensely, looking like he wanted to object but knew better because he realised that Percy was right.

Percy didn't waste his time and quickly went after Ron and Harry. He didn't look back to make sure Oliver had gone with the girls, the only assurance he got was the familiar _CRACK!_ sound that told him they hopefully had Disapparated. Making a bee-line toward the two boys, he called their names to tell them of his existence. He cursed when both boys didn't seem to hear him, and quickened his pace. He tried one more time, louder this time as he shot a spell at the Death Eater closest to him. Fortunately, Ron heard him. He saw his brother told Harry something, and the two boys made a sharp turn, avoiding the Death Eaters so they could make their way toward Percy. The tall ginger kept on running because he'd be damned if he lost the boys just when they were so close. When his legs felt like burning, at the same time his lungs felt like they were about to explode, he cursed himself for his lack of exercise. In the back of his mind, Percy swore that if he got out of alive, he'd join Oliver for his morning jog. A hex nearly hit his brother, missing Ron only by a few inches. That was when Percy knew he would have to do the Apparition while running, even though he had never done it before and knew the risk. But it was the only choice he had, so Percy could only hope he didn't mess up.

"Hold on to each other, you two!" Percy shouted when they were only five metres apart. At the same time, he prepared himself to Apparate.

 _Destination. Deliberation. Determination._

The moment his hand touched Ron's hand, Percy Transported all of them back to the Burrow. Before leaving, he saw one Death Eater shot a spell in the sky, making an ugly snake symbol appeared. The journey that usually only took seconds felt like _ages_ as Percy worriedly waited for them to arrive at the Burrow. The tree of them landed roughly, with the two boys collapsing on top of Percy. Ron was immediately fussed over by their mother, while Harry was being smothered in a tight hug by Marlene and Dorcas. When his mother turned her attention on him, giving him kisses all over his face, Percy didn't even care about it, when he usually would fight it. He was too tired and felt like sleeping for a week. He was a little bit dazed, his whole being still strung up because of the adrenaline. But once he was calm enough, he noticed that Oliver had helped him into the house, and was sitting beside him as the Keeper watched Bill helping their mother to tend to their guests. Charlie was awfully quiet as he took his seat beside Marlene, obviously worrying over Tonks. No one made a sound for the longest time. No one even took a sip from the hot chocolate his mother made for them. It was when the first ray of sun appeared that they heard a loud _CRACK!_ from outside of the house, followed by five others.

The first one to enter the house was Percy's father, who nearly lost his footing when his wife ran into him to give the balding man a hug. The next one to enter was Tonks. After being nearly catatonic for the past few hours, Percy was surprised when Charlie made his way to Tonks in an inhuman speed. Lifting his girlfriend into arms, the two were soon lost in their own world as they kissed each other so passionately, Percy had to look away. The rest of the group came together, and they all went to their own respective families. Everyone asked about what just happened, but there was no answer for the longest time. It was nearly half an hour later when Sirius finally spoke, looking grim and solemn.

"It's the Death Eaters," he began. "They've re-assembled themselves."


	34. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 3

**NOTES:** Hmm... Honestly, I don't really like this chapter. It feels like a filler chapter, and I usually don't do that. But oh well, I really don't feel like re-writing the whole thing again. And before we proceed with the next chapter, I'll answer some of the questions I frequently get PM-ed about.

"What's with the brackets?"- This one is something that I get almost all the time. Well, honestly, I don't know what I'm supposed to answer that one with. I don't even know when I started using this...'style' of writing.

"Why was Peter so evil?"- Because he spent 12 years in Azkaban. And the jealousy bit was because I wanted a more acceptable reason on why he betrayed his friends. Cowardice was a good one, but even if you weren't as brave as the other Marauders, Peter could at least keep quiet. So I thought the other reason on why he betrayed James and Lily was because of jealousy. One day the dirty little rat just snapped.

"Why were some characters so OOC?"- Because this is a different story than Rowling's. They were faced with a situation that was entirely different than what was canon. I imagined they would act differently as well.

"Why do you name Sirius' daughter Payne?"- I took it from my best friend's name. I named Sirius' daughter after her because she's my friend. She asked me to use her middle name though, Payne, because she hates the first name. So I did.

"What's with the stupid pairing(s)?"- I don't mean to be rude and childish by saying this but it's _my story_. It's a fanfiction that I wrote. So, I think it's up to me. I could write Snape/shampoo if I wanted to, and it'd be totally fine because it's _fanfiction._ If you don't like it, then don't read.

Okay, that's all, I think. Actually, there are more questions - questions that are rude and upsetting. But I'm just going to ignore them. For the rest of you, thanks for reading and staying with me this far :) Special thanks to my sister, Payne, and Holly. You guys are awesome ;) This chapter is for you guys!

* * *

 _("Can I sit in here? Everywhere else is full."_ _)_

 _("Sure_ _."_ _)_

 _("I'm Ron Weasley. Nice to meet you."_ _)_

 _("Harry Potter."_ _)_

"For Merlin's sake, Potter; quit moping around!"

Harry blinked, jerking a little upon hearing Malfoy's loud voice as the blond without Hermione in sight, taking his seat across Harry. After his fight with Ron, the Gryffindor had taken refugee in the library when he had no class to avoid the ginger. He couldn't believe his _best friend_ would be the one who didn't believe that he hadn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire. The ginger even had the nerve to say that Harry had asked Sirius or Remus to help him. To say that he was disappointed would be an understatement. He knew how dangerous the championship was, and no matter how reckless he was, Harry wasn't that suicidal. He didn't immediately tell his Godparents about it, trying to find a way that wouldn't freak them out when he delivered them the news. Unfortunately, his family found out about it in the morning, when they read the Daily Prophet. Harry had no idea whether he should laugh or cry when Marlene and Dorcas sent Dumbledore a Howler, demanding the Headmaster to find a way to get Harry out of the competition. Needless to say, what with the magic-binding law regarding the competition, Harry had no choice but to participate. It wouldn't be a big deal for him had it not been for the fact that practically everyone in Hogwarts hated him. The only ones who didn't were Hermione, Ginny, the Weasley twins, Neville _and_ Malfoy.

"Tell me again why you don't hate me and my best friend does?" Harry grumpily asked as he eyed Snape's essay with a vengeance. The bloody git's homework was always ridiculously difficult.

"Who says I don't hate you, Potter? I just know that even though you're dim, you're not _that_ dim," Malfoy deadpanned, wordlessly already circling Harry's mistakes from the essay he was trying to finish. "Besides, Weaselbee doesn't hate you. He's just envious of you. It's _always_ been about you, isn't it? And even back in his own family, it's never been about him. At least, that's why Granger told me when she tried to convince me you wouldn't have entered your own name."

"So you _did_ think it was me," Harry said, scowling when he realised how Malfoy just made a mess of his essay. "If it weren't Hermione, would you have treated me the way Ron did?"

It took Malfoy awhile to answer. "Probably… But it doesn't matter now, right? At least I'm not running around giving out pins about how much of a loser you are. Just so you know, I got my money on Diggory so you better lose, Scarhead."

A lot of people would have smacked Malfoy in the face for his comment – and Harry _really_ felt like smacking the blond Pureblood. But this, the both of them insulting each other, was familiar. He was used to it. The familiarity helped him to forget how his supposed enemy was supporting him while his supposed best friend wouldn't even look at him. Rolling his eyes as he tried to hide the small smile that threatened to appear, Harry then decided to focus on his homework, correcting the mistakes Malfoy just pointed out. The two boys were silent for sometime, the both of them busy with their own work, when Harry broke the silence with a question.

"Where's your girlfriend?"

Harry wished he had a camera at that moment because the look on Malfoy's face was _priceless._

"My…what?" Malfoy muttered, avoiding to look at the Gryffindor in embarrassment.

"Hermione," Harry said, grinning. "Where's Hermione? You know, my best friend? The girl you're seeing right now."

"She's seeing McGonagall about an assigment. And we're not…" Malfoy trailed off, looking like he was struggling with himself. "We're not exactly… _dating._ I mean, I don't even know what to call our relationship."

"I have never dated anyone myself but I think what you two are doing _is_ dating. Or courting, if you prefer the outdated term. And if you don't know what it is, that means when two people are – "

"I know what that means, Potter. I just… I'm not sure whether Gra- _Hermione_ wants to make it official that she's seeing me."

"Well, you two are hanging out together, you sodding git. Considering that you two are almost always together almost 24/7, holding hands everywhere you go, stealing kisses whenever you get the chance, I think Hermione wants it to be official."

When the Slytherin muttered something under his breath, Harry swore he could almost see his not-friend blushed.

"What's that, Malfoy? What did you say?"

"We haven't kissed," Malfoy said, barely audible it took Harry sometime to fully comprehend it.

"You WHAT?" Harry yelled, quickly dodging Malfoy's hand when the blond moved inhumanly fast to cover Harry's mouth. As Seekers, the both of them were really quick.

"Gods, Potter; you are _such_ a girl. Keep it down, will you?"

Knowing how uncomfortable his not-friend was when it came to talking about feelings, Harry wisely changed the topic. "So, you haven't kissed my friend. Okay, I don't need the details. But, at least you both have talked about it, right? I mean, you both look pretty serious to me."

"We're only fourteen. It's not like I'm about to propose to her next week."

"Mate, you _paid_ for her ticket to the World Cup. And don't even get me started about the many times you nearly died for her."

"It was only twice, Potter. And it's not like I directly sacrificed myself for her. More like I sacrificed myself for _you._ "

"Semantics. The point is, I know you really care about her. Pretty sure the L word is coming soon."

"You Gryffindors are so bloody nosy. Why don't you just focus on yourself, Pothead?"

"Focus on myself? What do you mean?"

"What about you and Chang?"

If Harry was eating or drinking or had something in his mouth, he would have _choked._

"W-what about me and Cho?" Harry stuttered, feeling himself growing red in the face. "And wipe that stupid smirk off your face, you prat."

Typical of the Malfoy heir, the blond's smirk widened instead. "I'm annoying, obnoxious, snobbish, and even evil at times. But that doesn't mean I'm blind, Potter. I see the way you stare at Ravenclaw's princess many times. It's obvious you have feelings for her. I mean, you nearly fell over the stairs the other day because you were to busy staring at Chang."

Harry wished the ground would just open up and swallow him right then and there. Ever since the Quidditch game against Ravenclaw, Harry had developed feelings for Cho Chang. The Ravenclaw Seeker was just so pretty, and her Quidditch skills amazed him. He hadn't really thought about her anymore during the summer. But once he returned back to school and ran into Cho on the train, his feelings for her came back full force. It didn't help that she looked even prettier than she did the previous year. Harry had tried so hard to hide his crush on Cho that not even his family, Ron and Hermione knew about it. Apparently the universe was transpiring against him because Malfoy just had to be the one who found out about his secret.

Out of all the people in Hogwarts, it had to be Draco Malfoy.

"Damn you, Malfoy," Harry muttered. "Have I ever told you how I flipping _hate_ you?"

Harry felt like punching Malfoy when the blond let out a gleeful laugh. "Why so tense, Potter? Relax, I promise I won't tell anyone about it."

"Tell anyone about what? That Harry likes Cho Chang?"

In unison, Harry and Malfoy whipped their heads at the source of the voice. Hermione had just walked in, seeming a little out of breath when she came as threw herself beside the blond. Harry noted with amusement how the smirk Malfoy had on his face was instantly replaced with a small smile the moment he saw Hermione.

"Granger," Malfoy said softly, taking a tone that Harry often heard him used to little Lyra Malfoy. "Nice of you to finally join us. And how did you know about Potter's one-side, unrequited love for Miss Chang?"

"Draco, don't be mean," the bookworm scolded even though she failed to hide the grin from her face. "I've known for quite sometime actually. I notice how his eyes always find her whenever she's around. You should learn to be more subtle, Harry."

"See? I told you you were too obvious," Malfoy said smugly.

Knowing that he'd lost, Harry could only roll his eyes in annoyance. "Whatever, you two."

His grumpy response got the pair laughing. But as if she just remembered something, Hermione then said, "Oh right, I almost forgot something. Harry, you should go see Hagrid."

Eyebrows raised, Harry asked, "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Nope. I ran into Ronald on the way here, and he told me that Seamus told Ron that Parvati told Dean that Hagrid was looking for you. Something about the first Triwizard Task."

"Really? That's what carrot top said?" Malfoy asked sceptically before Harry could reply. "That's like, the _worst_ lie anyone could possibly come up with."

"Draco, shut up," Hermione snapped, glaring at the blond. When Malfoy merely rolled his eyes, she then turned her attention back to Harry. "Regardless of whether Ron was lying or not, I think you really should go see Hagrid. It's something to do with the first task anyway. Probably it's some kind of hint. And oh, he said you should bring your Cloak too."

"Fine," Harry sighed. Tidying up his things, he said, "I guess I'll see you two tomorrow then, assuming that I won't be back till late. Be nice, love birds."

"Sod off, Potter!" Malfoy called out as he walked away.

It was half an hour later Harry finally met up with Hagrid by his cottage, he was surprised to find the giant all dressed up. His question went unanswered, at least until Hagrid beamed at a figure behind Harry as they both made their way into the forrest. When the students from Beauxbatons came, everyone's attention soon landed on the tall woman that Dumbledore introduced as Madame Olympe Maxime, the Headmistress of the school. She was really tall that she made Dumbledore's weirdly lanky figure looked small. With a tug to his heart, Harry remembered how Ron remarked that Hagrid couldn't take his eyes off the French woman. As they ventured deeper into the forest, with Harry hidden under his Cloak, he couldn't help himself when he made faces at the horrible French accent Hagrid tried to do to impress Madam Maxime. Growing up with Sirius, who was the most Pureblooded wizard around even though said wizard disliked the fact, Harry sort of learned the language because Sirius and Marlene often spoke in French when they both were discussing something serious, to avoid from having Harry overheard it. Harry wasn't very good at it, but even he knew how horrible Hagrid's French was.

His thought was soon distracted when he heard the loud roar coming from the direction they were headed. Then everything became so bright Harry almost thought the sun was coming. But it didn't take him long to figure things out, especially when he saw the excited glint in Hagrid's eyes. Careful not to alert Madam Maxime of his existence there, he poked Hagrid and whispered, " _Dragons?_ That's what the first task is going to be?"

Hagrid didn't immediately answer. Instead he told Maxime to go ahead and have a look. Once they were sure that the Headmistress was out of earshot, Hagrid nodded his head in excitement. "Yeah. Ron's brother – Charlie, tha's his name – brought 'em all 'ere from Romania. Hafta leave his clingy woman behind though."

"You know she'll murder you if she finds out you call her clingy. Oh, hey, Harry."

On cue, both Harry and Hagrid turned around to find Charlie standing there behind them, a cheeky grin on his face. Swallowing, Harry tensely replied. "Charlie, hey."

Chuckling, the tattooed ginger said, "Don't worry, kid. I'm not going to tell anyone you're here. And your lady's all the way up there with the Liondragon, Hagrid. So, you guys' are safe."

"Thanks, Charlie," Hagrid said, obviously relieved. "An' so sorry 'bout the comment Ah I made 'bout yer little lady. Didn' mean ta."

"No worries, old friend."

"What are you doing here though?" Harry asked. "I thought you and Tonks were supposed to be helping Sirius and Remus on a case."

"I am. At least, until it was revealed that the first task would involve dragons. But once we're through with the first task, I'll go back to work on the case."

"Tell Tonks I said hello, okay," Harry said. He'd always liked the Metamorphmagus who often babysat him when he was small. He'd long considered Tonks as an older sister of sort.

"Sure. She originally wanted to come here. But Sirius told her that it would be better if she didn't. Your Godfather's convinced that someone has it in for you. If we have someone quite popular like Tonks, it would be more difficult for us to capture the culprit."

"I know. Sirius told me about it."

"Of course, he did."

"By the way, is it considered cheating if you tell me which dragon I should be worried about?"

Charlie chuckled. "That _is_ cheating, but it's not like it matters much, not when you're here anyway… I have to be honest, the dragon that really scares me is the Hungarian Horntail. That's a mean one."

"Where? Which one is it?" Hagrid quickly asked, craning his neck.

"That one. The one that nearly roasted three of my friends. I pity whoever going to go against her."

"She's beautiful," Hagrid whispered in awe. It took nearly everything in Harry for him not to give a scathing remark.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" Charlie asked. He was all serious now, completely ignoring the fact that Hagrid had now joined Madam Maxime.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Do you know Luna Lovegood?"

His question caught Harry off guard a bit. "Luna? She's the quirky blonde, right?"

"Yeah, she is a little odd. Do you know her?"

"Well, not really. She's best friends with Ginny though. I think you'd have better luck asking your sister, Charlie."

"Right," Charlie said, realisation dawned of him. It looked like he just remembered that the person his sister often talked about, the girl whom the ginger had befriended, was none other than the same Luna Lovegood that he was looking for.

"Yeah, Ginny can probably help you better."

"Very well, I'll go ask Gin… It's already late, by the way. I think you shuld go back."

"You're right. But Hagrid…" Harry trailed off, scowling when he saw how Hagrid was too busy flirting with Madam Maxime. "Oh well, I guess I'll just go back alone."

"Here, let me walk you," Charlie said, chuckling at the sight of the couple.

"Thank you very much, Charlie," Harry said once he was back in the castle. "And thanks for not ratting me out. It would be so embarrassing if I got kicked out from the game before I even could even compete."

"No problem. Good luck, okay? You'll be fine, Harry."

 _As if,_ Harry thought darkly. _Harry Potter and luck were two completely opposite things._

* * *

"I'm an idiot."

"A colossal idiot."

"I should have believed you."

"You totally should have."

"And I'm really sorry for that. Really, truly sorry."

"As you should."

"Malfoy, if you don't shut up right now, I swear to Merlin I'm going to punch you _so hard_ , that pointy nose of yours is going to pop out from the back of your head."

"I'd like to see you try, Weasley."

"You – "

"Knock it off, you two," Harry said, quickly putting himself between the blond and the ginger. "Malfoy, you go bother Hermione. And Ron, I forgive you. I really do."

"Don't let him get away so easily, Pothead," Malfoy said flatly before heading off to where Hermione was, who was trying but failing to pretend as if she wasn't trying to eavesdrop.

Like nearly everyone in the Great Hall was.

"Don't you pricks have better things to do?" Ron snapped impatiently, glaring at everyone.

"You heard what he said," Fred said. "Go back to your knittings, girls."

"Yeah, there's nothing to see anyway," George added. "Except for my kid brother and his best friend trying to clear things out between."

Ron didn't know whether he wanted to punch his brothers or thank them.

He wisely chose the latter, mouthing the word to the twins, who winked at them.

"Come on," Harry said, giving a small. "Let's play Exploding Snap in the common room."

Nodding wordlessly, Ron followed his best friend. Like he always had. It was the thing that always bothered Ron. He knew that everyone always thought of him as the pathetic loser who could only follow Harry around. That was why he got so upset when the Goble of Fire spat out the paper with Harry's name written on it. Deep down, he knew that there was no way Harry would be stupid enough to put his name in. But the devil in him made him believed that Harry would try to follow his father's footsteps, just to prove to the world that he _was_ James Potter's son. He regretted everything almost immediately, but his pride was too big to apologise. That was why when Hagrid told him to tell Harry about the dragons, he didn't even think twice about it. When he saw his best friend stepped into the arena, looking scared as hell when he saw the mean Hungarian Horntail, Ron felt like jumping down there to help him. He was pretty sure that he was one of the loudest to cheer when Harry won, along with his family. He decided right then and there, even if Harry _did_ put his name, it didn't matter to him. They were best friends. They'd always been there for each other, so nothing the universe threw in their way would change that.

Ron thought that things would be fine, seeing that he'd made up with Harry. But it wasn't even a week later when the announcement about the Yule Ball was made. He was glad that he wasn't the only boy in his year who adopted the look of constipation upon hearing the news. The Yule Ball meant he would have to get dressed up, learned how to dance, and then asked a girl to go with him. The last one was the scariest part for him. He was so bad at talking, even when it came to talking to his family. The only person who was worse than him was his brother Percy, but even Percy had his girlfriend Penelope to go with. He considered on taking the easy way out, which was to ask Hermione out, but then he remembered that seeing that his best friend was seeing Malfoy, obviously the two would go together. His only consolation was that Harry, one of the most popular guys in probably all over England, was just as bad as he was about the whole thing. Ron overheard the guy practising in the mirror, and it wasn't long for the ginger to realise that Harry only had one girl in mind to ask – the pretty Ravenclaw who bad-talked Chudley Cannons once. Ron would have told Harry about how he didn't like it if Harry asked Cho Chang to the prom, but then McGonagall announced to the whole Transfiguration class that they'd have _dancing lessons_ after dinner every Friday to prepare themselves for the Ball.

The first lesson was disastrous. He was too busy joking around with Harry that he didn't realise McGonagall was watching him. When he was called out front to help her _demonstrate_ how to dance correctly, he wished for lightning to strike him down. But at least, when everyone else was asked to pair up, Ron got lucky because by being helping McGonagall, he didn't have to find someone to dance with. He laughed the loudest when he saw how horrible the twins danced, tripping over their legs. He stuck a tongue-out at Harry, who immediately paired himself up with Hermione, as the guy led their best friend around. It was obvious that growing up with the Head of the Sacreds, Harry was raised how to dance a waltz. Hermione didn't waste the chance and insisted that Harry helped her out until she got the hang of it, knowing that if Harry could do it, Malfoy certainly could as well. It would be Hermione's nightmare if she failed to keep up with Malfoy during the Ball. Being the brilliant and determined witch that she was, it took Hermione only an hour to nail it. Ron himself took the entire lesson until he could finally stop tripping over his own foot, and he was sure it was only because McGonagall personally taught him.

It was about two weeks before the Ball, and both he and Harry still had no one to go with. But Ron had a more pressing matter. The dress-robes his mother sent him was something that he wouldn't be caught dead in. It looked like something straight out of the sixteenth century. When Harry saw his robes, the saint in him immediately contacted his Godparents so they'd get Ron one. The ginger tried to object it, but everyone knew how Harry was stubborn and adamant. He ended up accepting the robes. He lost count how many times he thanked Harry, and only stopped when Harry threatened to hex him if he didn't. It only took about a week until the robes were sent to him. About the same time Hermione's dress arrived too. Her dress was a pretty pinkish-purple colour. For Ron, who knew practically nothing about dresses, thought the dress was just alright. But Malfoy apparently didn't think so. When he saw Hermione's dress, Ron thought the blond had a heart attack right then and there.

"What is that _horrid_ thing?" Malfoy yelped, pointing at Hermione's dress when he came to Gryffindor's table to greet the girl.

"You're such an arse, Draco," Hermione snapped, blushing furiously. "This is my dress. And if you ask me, I think it's pretty."

"Granger, don't tell me you're wearing that," the blond said, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly as if he was trying to explain some difficult Potion theory to Hermione.

"As a matter of fact, I am wearing that to the Ball," Hermione replied coolly. "Why? Do you have a problem with that, Malfoy?"

The Slytherin realised his mistake when he heard Hermione's tone, and quickly explained. "It's not like that, Gra – I mean, Hermione."

"Damn, Malfoy; after all these months and you still call her by her surname?" Ron quipped.

Malfoy flipped him off but kept his attention on the bookworm. "Your dress is okay, Hermione. But you have to understand that my parents, they're getting me this…this really fancy robes. And um…" Ron took pleasure at the way Malfoy ran a hand in frustration through his hair. "I mean, you're a girl. You get what I'm saying, right?"

"You think you'd outshine her dress," Harry said, smirking. "Wow. I didn't know you're such a – "

"I understand," Hermione said in a small voice. "But, I don't have any other dress. Even if I buy one right now, my parents would kill me."

"Just leave it all to me," Malfoy said. "My mum knows someone who can make a dress real quick. I promise it'll be done a day before the Ball."

When Hermione glared at Malfoy, even Ron and Harry flinched at the ferocity.

"Draco Malfoy, are you saying that you're getting me a _new_ dress?" the bookworm said, her voice a pitch higher than usual.

"Well, um – "

"If you say yes, I'm going to hext you, Malfoy."

" _Okay, okay!_ I'm not getting you a new dress. Just give me that dress of yours, and I'll tell my mum to have it modified. There. You happy?"

 _(Later on, Malfoy revealed to Harry, who then told Ron, that Narcissa refused to what her son asked to. The only thing she used Hermione's old dress for was to have the measuremeants. She simply refused her son's date to wear something that wasn't expensive enough to bankrupt a small village. What was more curious was the fact that even Lucius supported her decision. It was much later that they found out why exactly the arrogant Pureblood did so.)_

"Ecstatic," Hermione said with a sweet-smile, reaching out to hold Draco's hand. "Thanks, Draco."

"Don't mention it." He flashed a small smile as he brought Hermione's hand to his lips.

Both Ron and Harry scowled when they heard how girls all around them sighed dreamily.

"You two are making me sick," Ron said as Harry made gagging noises.

Immediately, Draco scowled at them. Cocking an eyebrow, he said, "Who are you two going with, boys? Oh wait. I just remember that Weasley here has no idea on who he's supposed to ask while Potter's too chicken-shit to ask _someone._ "

"Don't you have a First Year to bully? A cat to kill?" Harry said scathingly.

"Or perhaps just die and leave us all in peace?" Ron added.

"Boys," Hermione reprimanded, like a mother would to her insolent kids.

To both Ron's and Harry's utmost annoyance, Malfoy merely gave them an infuriating smirk.

"Hey, don't be such a sore loser, you two. Not my fault you both have no game."

"Hermione, can I _please_ hex him? Just a little bit?" Harry said.

"Draco…"

"Alright, alright. I'll leave." The blond raised one hand in mock-defeat while the other grabbed Hermione's dress and tucked it inside his bag. "Oh, one more thing, you losers."

"What is it, prick?" Ron said, slowly losing his patience. "What else do you need to say?"

Malfoy shrugged. "I just want to tell you to look beyond what's in front of you. Trust me, the solution to your dateless situation is _right_ in front of you the whole time."


	35. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 4

"Hello, Harry."

Harry nearly slipped over the staircase when he almost bumped into Cho Chang. He was going to the Owlery to deliver a message to Sirius, hoping that his Godfather could give him advice on how to ask a girl out. He wanted to ask Sirius because he remembered his Godmother's story about the Auror being a womaniser back in the day. He really didn't expect to be running into Cho, especially not so early in the morning, at the Owlery of all the places. He wanted smack himself in the head when instead of replying like a normal person, Harry was stuttering like an idiot. There was his chance, standing right in front of him, and he was stuttering. He had an internal argument in his head with his own self, trying to defend himself that the only reason he was tongue-tied was because he was dumbstruck at how beautiful Cho looked. When he realised how stupid he must be, just standing there gawking at her like an idiot, Harry quickly talked.

"Cho!" Harry squeaked, sounding like a dying Hippogriff. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I'm sending my mother her present. It's her birthday today," the girl replied, smiling.

"Oh, happy birthday to her. I suppose…" Harry trailed off awkwardly.

He was glad when Cho's smile widened. "Thanks, Harry. And what about you? What are you doing here so early?"

"I uh… I was going to tell my Godparents how I'm doing."

"Right… Well um, see you later? And good luck, okay."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks."

 _Go ask her now, you bloody idiot!_ The little voice in his head yelled, sounding suspiciously _a lot_ like sodding Draco Malfoy. It was as if there was a tiny version of the git in his head.

"Hey, Cho!" he called out quickly, hoping that the girl hadn't gone too far yet.

"Yes?" she replied, coming back up again.

"Willyougototheballwithme?" he said in one breath.

Cho frowned, looking confused. "I'm sorry, Harry. What did you say? I didn't catch that."

 _Nice, Potter. That was just brilliant._

 _(Shut up, mini-Malfoy.)_

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Harry repeated one more time. "I was saying… Um, do you want to go to the Ball – the Yule Ball, that is – with…with me?"

The three seconds Cho took to answer felt like three centuries to Harry.

"I'm sorry, Harry. But someone has already asked me. And I said yes."

 _That's just painful. Sorry about that, Potter._

"Oh… Well, okay then. It's…it's fine," Harry choked out.

The look of pity on Cho's face made him wanted to jump off the Owlery. "I'm really sorry, Harry."

"It's nothing. Really. But uh… Can I – who are you going with?"

"It's Cedric. Cedric Diggory."

 _That's a tough competition, Potter. Well, at least you tried._

 _(I told you, SHUT UP!)_

Harry could only nod his head as he waved Cho goodbye. He waited until the girl was gone before he let himself to fall ungraciously onto the ground. Burying his face in his hands, he moaned in desperation, feeling so embarrassed he wished the dragon had just killed him that day during the First Task. He was so engrossed in his own misery that he didn't hear someone else was with him. It took the person tapping him gently on his shoulder for him to snap out of it.

"Harry? Are you alright?" Ginny Weasley said, her face flushing red a little a bit, even if worry coloured her brown eyes as they met Harry's green ones. Harry found it endearing how she was always so shy with him but menacingly fiery with everyone else.

"Hello, Gin," Harry greeted with a small smile. "And thanks for your concern. But I'm fine. Really."

"Well, okay then. That's…that's good." She nervously tucked her hair behind her ear, and for a moment, he thought whether his mother ever tucked _her_ own hair shyly in front of his father.

"What are you doing up here in the Owlery so early, by the way?"

"Replying t-to Mum's letter. But I can't see Errol's not here. I reckon he's with the twins."

"Oh… Well, feel free to use Hedwig. She's been looking for a chance to spread out her wings."

Ginny's eyes widened in epic proportion, and it brought a smile another smile on Harry's face. "Aren't you going to use her though?"

"Nope. Actually, I _was_ going to use her. I wanted to send Sirius a letter. I uh, I changed my mind though. But I do come to see her often, whether I need to send a letter or not. She's a reminder of home, you know."

Ginny nodded, her own smile on her face. "She's very beautiful. Hedwig is."

"She is… Anyway, go on, then. Go send the letter. It's okay. Your family knows her."

"Right. Um, thank you."

A few minutes of comfortable silence passed as Ginny her letter to Hedwig's feet. Harry watching in amusement as the ginger softly told the Hedwig to take her letter to the Burrow, earning a gentle peck from the owl when she thanked the bird before it flew away. Even though he'd known Ron for four years, Harry had to admit that he rarely spent time with Ron's sister. Out of all of Ron's siblings, he was the closest with the twins. It was Hermione who got along really well with Ginny. He was aware of the girl's crush on him, which only seemed to intensify ever since he saved her life back in his second year. So, when Ginny turned around after she'd made sure Hedwig had gone safely, Harry couldn't help but to feel a little awkward and self-conscious. After all, it was the first time in two years that they were truly alone.

"I saw Cho Chan on my way here," Ginny said, trying to act casual but failed miserably.

"Yeah, she was just leaving when I got here," Harry answered stiffly, his face no doubt had flushed red as he relished the embarrassing moment of his failed attempt to ask his crush to the Yule Ball.

"I see... Did you uh, ask her to go with you?" When Harry could only stare at her in shock, the feisty ginger grinned sheepishly. "I know from Hermione. We're friends, remember?"

"I need to remind Hermione to mind her own business," Harry grumbled. "And no, I didn't. Well, I did. But she said no. She's going with Cedric Diggory."

"Poor Luna," Ginny said, the look in her eyes had gone sombre in her sympathy for her friend. "She likes him, but he sees her more like a sister. Must be the four-year age-gap between them. But I think that's stupid."

"Um, yeah. I suppose so," Harry said, not knowing what else to say when it came to these things. Hermione was the one who was good with feelings and all other girly stuffs.

"It's going to break her heart, you know? Cedric's like her safety-net. He matters a lot to her. I can't imagine how distraught she would be once she finds out.. Someone actually asked her to go with him, and she almost said no because she was hoping for Cedric to go with her. But if I were her, I'd probably ditch Cedric. The bloke who asked her is like, a millions times better than Cedric. She's really lucky, seriously. She'd be the only third year in attendance..."

Ginny kept on talking and talking, seemingly getting comfortable in Harry's presence. But the Seeker was no longer listening. He just came to a realisation that would help him out of his current predicament. He cursed himself for taking so long to realise it, when all this time, the solution had always been there all along. Malfoy _was_ right, the annoying bastard. He should have looked beyond what was in front of him. Then again, bloody git was just as annoying as Hermione when it came to it. Both had the tendency to be annoyingly accurate for most of the time. Steeling himself and hoping that Ron wouldn't bash him in the head, Harry spoke.

"Go to the Ball with me, Gin."

Almost instantly, Ginny fell quite.

"I beg you pardon?" Ginny said in a small voice.

Harry took a deep breath before he spoke. "It's just perfect, don't you think? I need a date to go to the Ball with, and you just told me that you'd love to go. So, go to the Ball with me. Please?"

"O-okay," Ginny stuttered after awhile, this time her face matched her hair. "I…I'll go to the Ball with you, Harry."

"Thank you," Harry said, grinning. "Honestly, you just saved – "

"But I don't have a dress," the girl said. "Having one made is just impossible because we're like only a week away. But I don't think my parents have the money to buy one."

"Don't worry about it," Harry said, waving his hand. "I'll write to Marlene so she can get you one. Marlene knows _all_ of the best dressmakers in England."

"But Hedwig's sending my letter!"

"I forgot about that… Oh well, I guess I'll try charming McGonagall into allowing me to use her fireplace so I can Floo home about this. The point is, Gin; don't worry about it, okay?"

Harry didn't even realise it when he'd hugged the girl. He only thought the girl needed it because she was hyper-ventilating. It was only because Ginny gently pushed him away, avoiding to look at him. "Whatever you say, Harry," she said, nodding her head.

"That's settled, then. I guess, I'll see you – OH! I almost forgot about one more thing," Harry said quickly. He felt a little guilty when Ginny flinched at his voice.

Confused, Ginny tilted her head adorably to the side. "What is it?"

He knew Ron wouldn't _really_ kill him if he found out that Harry was taking his sister to the Ball. Probably his ginger friend would just punch him and yell at him a little. But Harry didn't feel like going around with a bruise, or to be yelled at by Ron. And he knew there was only one solution to prevent Ron from punching him.

Grinning at a confused Ginny, Harry asked, "Does your friend Astoria have a date yet?"

* * *

She still couldn't believe it. Luna had never been more embarrassed in her entire life. She never minded what others said about her. She rarely felt embarrassed. She wasn't exactly confident, but Luna was fine with her life. It had been years since the last time she felt suicidal. It had been years since she felt _so alone._ Two years ago, Luna made a promise that no matter what, she'd never think of death as a way out. She promised _him_ that she wouldn't do that. Back then, she had no problem promising such a thing to him. She was so sure that he'd always be by her side. Luna knew that she wasn't exactly pretty. She was nowhere as attractive as feisty Ginny, and obviously nothing like sweet Astoria. But at least she had the assurance that even if she couldn't attract _the_ Cedric Diggory, her oldest friend for most of her life, the boy would never leave her. She realised it wasn't anyone's fault but her own. She knew she shouldn't have done what she did.

She shouldn't have told Cedric she loved him.

 _("What, what? You must be joking right? I mean… Luna, you're like a sister to me. Please, don't make fool of yourself.")_

That was what she was to him. A fool.

Cedric was walking her to the Ravenclaw Tower. They were talking about a lot of things. As usual, Cedric did most of the talking because Luna liked hearing the Hufflepuff talked. She had no idea what pushed her to do that, but suddenly, she just blurted out how much she loved him. She realised her mistake too late, and watched anxiously as Cedric froze in shock. There was no way she could take it back, so she waited for Cedric's response. It broke her heart to hear Cedric's reply. Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes as she quickly turned around and made a mad dash away from him. She couldn't let Cedric know how devastated she was. All around her, she felt everyone stared at her, pointing their nasty fingers at her, _laughing_ at her. Cedric was right. She _was_ a fool. There were practically hundreds of other girls who would be more suited for Cedric. There was no way in hell he would ever choose her. The infamous Head Boy would never choose the lunatic charity-case. Luna kept on running, barely aware of where she was going. The only thing she had in mind was how she had to get as fast away as possible from Cedric. It didn't help that her eyes were blinded by her tears. It was a miracle that she didn't fall over. She didn't know how long she'd been running until she ran right into someone.

 _("Whoa,_ bŭdete – _vhy are you crying,_ propuskaĭ _?")_

Viktor Krum didn't talk much, but probably that was because his English wasn't very good. But since the day Luna literally ran into him, he'd been so kind to her. He always sat with her during every meal, walked her to all of her classes, and was willing to ditch his friends so he could hang out with her. With Viktor, it was one of the rare times Luna would talk about the magical creatures she and her father believed in, because Viktor actually _listened_ to her. They mostly spent their time in the library, on the other corner of the room near the Restricted Section, where no one would bother them (read: Viktor). It was around a month after they met, about two weeks before the Ball, when Viktor asked whether she'd go with him as his date. Luna was half-way from saying no when she saw the back of Cedric's head as he headed toward the exit of the library with _Cho Chang,_ unaware of Luna's presence. She didn't know why she did it, but at that moment, she wanted to prove to Cedric that she could do very well without him. Luna wasn't usually a vindictive person, but as she told Viktor yes, a part of her wanted to _hurt_ Cedric by doing so, even if she knew it was most likely impossible. She told Viktor to keep it a secret though, knowing the surprise would be better.

Buying a new dress would be much too expensive for her. So, in the end, she asked her father to send her the dress her late mother wore during her first date with her father. It was a pale-purple dress that looked a little outdated, especially since it came from the mid seventies. But Luna thought it was perfectly fine, so she didn't think much about it. Astoria, however, didn't agree. The two of them were doing their homework together by the Lake, when the Slytherin said that she would be going to the Ball with Ron – the same Ron who was none other than the older brother of their best friend Ginny. Luna had known for sometime that her raven-haired friend had a crush on Ginny's brother, probably since that day she was found locked in the empty class room. The crush seemed to grow even more ever since that night Ron protected them from Pettigrew. Astoria told her that just the other day when she and Ginny were just about to leave Charms class, Ron came up to her, with Harry by his side, and asked her to go with him. She was so taken aback that it took Ginny answering for her when she kept on staring at Ron for quite awhile. Their ginger friend later revealed that Harry had asked her to go to the Ball with him, and they both thought that to prevent Ron from yelling at Harry for taking Ginny, they'd set him up with Astoria. It turned out that neither Harry nor Ron thought of asking anyone from below fourth year.

Astoria didn't dare to tell her parents about it though, because she knew they weren't really fond of the Weasleys. That made buying a new dress was out of question for her. In the end, she asked her personal Elf to go get her one of her mother's old dress, a white dress that Astoria remembered seeing her mother wore once and had loved it ever since, and decided to have the dress altered and refitted a little bit by a dressmaker in Hogsmeade. That was when Luna showed her friend her purple dress. The moment she saw Luna's dress, Astoria adopted the same look Malfoy had when he saw Hermione's dress. The Slytherin then insisted that they would take Luna's dress as well. So during their Hogsmeade visit, with Ginny as well, they took their dresses to the dressmaker, a woman named Madam Schneider. The two girls took turns getting measured while Ginny looked around to the new designs for their dresses. Madam Schneider told them that the dresses would be done in a few hours, so they all decided to wait around in Three Broomsticks so they could catch up on what had been happening in each other's life. Luna realised she should have said no the moment Ginny began to ask her _again_ about how Viktor asked her to be his date. She was thankful that at least Ginny didn't talk about Cedric, even though the blonde knew Ginny wanted too.

"So, what did he say?" Ginny asked. "And where did he ask again?"

"The library," Luna answered in a flat tone. "I was doing my Transfiguration homework when he came to me. Well, he's been spending his time with me lately, watching me doing my homework. Sometimes we talk, though mostly I do all the talking. I told him all about Daddy's favourite book. _Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them._ That day, I was too busy trying to finish my homework, so we didn't do much talking."

"And then he blurted out the question," Astoria said, smiling.

Luna nodded, blushing a little bit. "Yeah. He asked me whether I wanted to go to the Ball with him. It took me awhile to say yes. You know why."

"I know, Luna," the Slytherin said kindly, embracing the blonde. "And I'm _so glad_ that you do. Show him that you don't need him anymore."

"Hey, Tori," Ginny said suddenly. "Why did you cut your hair? I mean, it looks really great on you. But, your hair was _beautiful._ I was often envious of your hair, you know?"

Consciously, Astoria ran her hand through _really_ short hair. The Slytherin just cut her hair the previous day, with Ginny's help. Astoria never told them why, and both Luna and Ginny didn't ask either. But it was obvious that Ginny couldn't help her curiosity. Astoria took almost a minute to answer the question.

"I'm tired of constantly being compared with my sister," Astoria finally said. "Back at home, everything is about Daphne. Most of the time, I just sit back there and let my parents gush over my sister. Here at school, they see me as Daphne's sister – the _prettiest_ girl Hogwarts has ever seen. I hate it. I _really_ hate it. So, I cut my hair because then it'll be officially that I am uglier than Daph."

"Aw, come here, you poor thing," Ginny said, hugging Astoria. "That settles is, then. This summer, you're coming back to the Burrow with me, okay? I'll sic my mother at you so she can gush over how bloody beautiful you are. Well, that is, if you want to come to my family's humble abode. And by humble, I'm talking about hideous. It's nothing like your fancy mansion or anything."

"Really? Y-your parents would be okay with it?"

"My brothers bring their friends home _all_ the time. And don't even get me started with Charlie and Tonks." Ginny paused, making a face as she probably imagined her brother and his girlfriend. It made both Luna and Astoria laughed. "Even Luna's been to my home once, in our first year. So, it's fine. As long as you've asked your parents about it, my parents won't mind. You too, Luna."

"But I can't tell my parents. I'm sorry, but my parents don't really…" Astoria trailed off, looking guilty and ashamed upon the fact that her parents looked down at the Weasleys. Ginny mellowed out at that.

"Right. I forgot about that… WAIT! I know it! Tell them you're visiting the Blacks! Tell them you're invited to Harry's birthday party. I'll be there too, of course, courtesy of Ron."

"That could work. Only problem is, they know I don't really know Harry."

"Hm, you're right. Ugh, why are some people so prejudiced. No offense, by the way," Ginny quickly added, worried that she'd offended Astoria.

The raven-haired shrugged. "It's okay, really. We'll think of something, I'm sure. Thank you for the invitation, though. It means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it. We're friends, right? _Best friends._ I'll always be there for the both of you because I know you two will do the same."

Luna sensed the tone of their conversation had gone a little depressing, and she knew that both of her friends would prefer the opposite. So, for the first time ever, she initiated to change the topic. "Tell us about your dress, Gin. You said Harry asked his Godmother to deal with it."

Ginny's eyes practically shone with excitement before she launched with her story. She told them how right after he asked her, he went to McGonagall and asked whether he could use her fireplace. Long story short, after almost an hour of begging, the old witch allowed him. According to Ginny, Harry said that after he told his Godmother about trying to find Ginny a dress, Marlene actually cried and pulled Harry into a tight hug, the whole time saying about how Harry was all grown-up. Harry said the moment she remembered that Harry was going with Ginny, Marlene yelled at Sirius to come down. Sirius came running down to the living room, wand at the ready, probably assuming for the worst. The woman than told her fiance that history was repeating itself because like his father, Harry was choosing a redhead to be his date. The Godparents then started yelling and dancing around, forgetting that their Godson was there. Harry ended up leaving, but after making sure that they would send the dress at least two days before the Ball so if there was anything that needed to be changed, there would still be time.

"The point is," Ginny said. "I _really_ don't know how my dress looks like. Even Harry doesn't know about it either. We only know that the colour is green because the other day he gave me these really fancy green high-heels. I'll show you when we get back."

"Green would look really good on you, Gin," Luna said, earning a nod from Astoria.

"Yep. It matches Harry's eyes too," Astoria added.

"I think that's why it's going to be green. But Harry said Marlene chose green because during their Graduation Ball in 1978, Harry's parents went together and his mother wore a green dress."

"Is it the same dress?" Astoria asked.

Ginny shook her head. "Unfortunately no. The original dress was ruined on the night of the Potters' murder. I remember my parents once spoke about how Voldemort's failed attempt to kill Harry caused an explosion that destroyed nearly everything. It's really a pity, if you ask me. I would have loved to wear the dress."

"If you want me too, I can look into my mother's year book," Luna offered. "My mother was in the same year as Harry's parents. I bet there would be pictures of that night. You can have a look at how Lily Potter's dress was."

"Thanks, Luna. I'd love that."

"So, you really don't know anything about your dress except the colour?" Astoria asked.

"Yeah, that's right. But um, don't tell any one, but Harry told me that Draco told him about how Sirius _and_ Lucius are spending like, enough money to feed the poor children in South Africa. He said the two are pretty competitive about it, wanting their boys' respective dates have _the_ best dresses."

"Wow, that means a lot, you know? The Blacks and the Malfoys are two of the richest family in Europe right now," Astoria said. "You're really lucky."

"Well, to be honest, I'm lucky since the moment Harry asked me to be his date," Ginny said shyly, her face going as red as her face.

"And you seem closer with him too," Luna quipped. "I noticed how you said 'Harry told me' and 'Harry said' countless times during this conversation. And don't think I didn't see how you two spent quite a lot of times sitting next to each other during lunch, talking."

"Sometimes I forgot how annoying you could be, Luna," Ginny said, sticking her tongue out at the blonde Ravenclaw.

Luna couldn't help but laugh. She felt the happiest she'd been that year. It made her realised that even if she'd lost her friendship with Cedric, at least she still had Ginny and Astoria.

* * *

 **NOTES:** College starts again tomorrow. So, I don't know when I'll be able to update. That's kind of why I tried to finish this chapter as soon as possible. I'll give a little clue about what next chapter will be about. **_YULE BALL._ ** Yep, that's what the next chapter going to be about. I'll try to update soon, but I can't promise it, okay? And oh, in case any of you are wondering, my face-claim for Astoria is Kaya Scodelario. Thanks for reading, guys! :D


	36. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 5

_("I love you.")_

Cedric never liked going to Balls. Ever since he was ten, his father always dragged him around to all of the Ministry Balls, and Cedric _hated_ it. All the dancing, the stiffling robes, and the ridiculously fake conversations… He hated all that. At first, he would spend the whole night asking his father when they were going to go back home. After sometime though, he learned that if he behaved really well, his father would be pleased and the chance of them getting back home earlier would be bigger too. The only positive outcome he got was the dancing. While everyone was too busy tripping over their own foot during their dance-class for the Yule Ball, like almost everything, Cedric aced it. Even if he didn't like it, he had to admit that he was grateful for the dance lessons he got as a child. That left him with more time on dealing with the most crucial yet horrifying aspect of the Ball – getting a date to go with him.

Not long after he asked Cho Chang, Fleur Delacour came up to him one day and asked him to go with her. He pitied Ron Weasley, and probably the other fifteen boys, who fell under the powerful charm of the Veela-magic the French girl accidentally activated when she flirted with him. Cedric was always a strong-willed wizard since he was a little boy, something he inherited from his mother, so he wasn't affected at all. The girl looked greatly insulted when he said no. But Cedric's quick-thinking saved him from her wrath when he set her up with Roger Davies, who was more than happy to go with her. They ended up as some soft of friends, with Fleur always playfully sending a flirtatious wink in his way whenever they bumped into each other, and Cedric sticking his tongue out at her. He had to admire her though, for being the one who asked him and not the other way around. When he told her that, she looked pleased and told him that he made a good choice by taking Cho to the Ball.

Cedric knew Cho Chang since his sixth year and her fourth year, when they went against each other for the first time during a Quidditch match. Since then, they became quite close. During the summer, they wrote to each other. They talked about a lot of things thought mostly, it was about Quidditch. He liked how her sweet and rather fragile look didn't give away the fiery girl she was actually was. He liked that about her. Therefore, when he realised he would have to find a date for the Ball, it didn't take him long to choose Cho. He didn't even stuttere when he asked her. Instead, Cedric found it really easy, even. But as the Yule Ball came closer, no matter how many times people told him he made a good choice on choosing Cho, he knew it was _wrong._ It didn't feel right. He didn't feel the same excitement as he originally did. In fact, he felt downright miserable.

 _("I love you.")_

Cedric knew he should be happy. He was a Hogwarts champion for the infamous Triwizard Tournament. Linked to his arm, he had one of Hogwarts' most beautiful female students. Cho was wearing a golden, long-sleved cheongsam dress. Her hair was braided to form a crown around her head, with loose-curls framing her face. As they stood side-by-side, greeting his friends when they walked passed him, Cedric noticed how his mates eyed Cho appreciatively, after sending an envious glare in his way. The only other girl who was probably as beautiful as Cho, if not more, was probably Fleur. He and Cho ran into Fleur when they arrived at the Great Hall together. The part-Veela told him how dashing he looked, and complimented on Cho's dress. In return, Cho politely told Fleur how pretty she was. Next to the blonde, Roger Davies looked so proud that he'd managed to snatch Fleur as his date. The two parted awhile later, taking their place as a Hogwarts champion in the line McGonagall told them. Meeting Fleur cheered him up a little. It was a little weird but he actually enjoyed her company, feeling like they'd been friends for along time. Smiling, he decided that he should stop moping, and watched the new arrivals.

The show was stolen from Cho and Fleur when Hermione Granger came down the Grand Staircase, her crazy-curls that was now as straight as Cho's hair was pinned up in a bun as well. The girl was wearing a pale-blue dress that looked like the most glamorous dress Cedric had ever seen. He could only imagine just how expensive that dress was. Her date, Draco Malfoy, didn't even waste a second and rushed to meet her at the bottom of the staircase, almost like he'd Apparated. The Slytherin's usual scowl was gone, replaced with a huge smile as he looked at the Gryffindor with pure adoration in his eyes. He took the girl's hand and linked it with his, winking at the brunette who beamed at him. He overheard Malfoy said something about Granger's dress really did match his eyes, which caused the Gryffindor to giggle as the two of them went into the Hall. Cedric didn't realise everyone was staring in silent until they erupted in whispers as they talked about the couple. But they all fell silent went McGonagall, who was busy listing out everyone's name, dropped her list as she let out a gasp. Coming down from where Granger was just a minute prior, were Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and their respective dates. The first ones were Weasley and his date, the younger Greengrass girl. The girl was wearing a white dress that made her looked angelic, despite her pixy-cut hair. Cedric knew that it was rather scandalous for a Greengras, one of the top members of the Sacreds, to go with a Weasley, who they no doubt deemed as blood-traitors. But it was obvious that McGonagall only had eyes for Potter and his date, Ginny Weasley.

" _Oh, Harry,"_ McGonagall whispered, her usually stern expression was now tender. "Merlin, you look _just_ like your father?"

"I heard that a lot of times, Professor," Potter replied with a sad, small smile. "Except for my eyes. I have my – "

" – your mother's eyes," McGonagall continued. She turned her attention to Potter's date, smiling fondly at the redhead. "Do you know, Miss Weasley, that seventeen years ago, the late Lily Potter wore a green dress as well when she went with James Potter to their Graduation Ball?"

"I know, Professor. And I saw the pictures. She was breath-taking," Ginny said, sharing a smile with Potter, who patted her hand graciously.

"You look just as pretty, Gin," Potter said, giving the girl a wink that made her blushed. If Cedric was to be honest, her dress was probably the only dress that looked just as expensive as Granger's.

Still smiling, McGonagall then told the two Gryffindors to stand in line with the other champions. Cedric heard her muttering something about the other professors going to be shocked as she went to reprimand Krum, whose date was still missing. In his thick accent and limited English, Krum tried to make an excuse as to why his date was late. It piqued Cedric's curiosity. He, along with all of the male population at Hogwarts, knew just how many girls wanted to be Krum's date. He was wondering about who Krum's mysterious date was, when Cedric's eyes landed on the staircase – _and felt like his heart had stopped beating._

 _("I love you.")_

Taking small steps as she slowly descended the stairs, it was Luna Lovegood. She was wearing a beautiful purple dress that fit her really well. Her face was done modestly like a lot of the younger students were, and her hair was brushed to the side, held by the big butterfly-clip. Her pale-blue eyes looked around nervously, unsure of everything. But they looked relieved when she saw Krum making his way toward her, looking all regal when he bowed gentlemanly to her. The Bulgarian then took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. Almost everyone – the champions and their dates, since everyone else was already inside – looked surprised, silently watching Krum took his position as the first in line with Luna by his side. Despite being rivals in the tournament, Cedric had always liked Krum. The guy was very nice, unlike what most would think of, especially since he was a sportstar. But as he watched Krum spoke lowly to Luna, who gave him a shy smile, Cedric felt this weird, burning feeling of _jealousy_ toward the international Quidditch star. If it weren't for the fact that Cho nudged him to pay attention to McGonagall, Cedric probably would have marched toward Krum so he could punch the _idiot_ in the face.

"All right then," McGonagall said, being the first one to get over the shock. "Let's start the show, shall we?"

The doors were opened, the welcoming-music was played, and Krum led the other Victors into the Hall. The moment he walked in with Luna, all eyes immediately settled on the blonde Ravenclaw, who merely gave a polite smile to those who pointed and whispered at her. The champions and their dates took their positions in the center of the Hall to lead the dance, and waited for the music to begin. From where he was standing, Cedric saw Luna waved at the Weasley girl, who gave her a thumb-up before she put one hand on Potter's shoulder while she held Potter's hand in the standard waltz-position. Only then did Cedric realise the waltz-music had begun to play. It was only because he had learned the dance since he was a child that he managed to avoid tripping, his body moved almost robotically as he twirled Cho around. It was several minutes later when the dance was joined by everyone else, led by Dumbledore and McGonagall. Soon, they all had to shift around to make enough space because you could only move so much when there were about two hundred people all over the place. The song changed for a few times, but Cedric didn't give a damn. The whole time, he had his eyes on Luna. The blonde had a huge smile on her face, something that Cedric rarely saw. Cedric didn't even notice it when he had dropped Cho's hand abruptly, as if his hand caught on fire when the song changed again.

"Oh, we're stopping already?" Cho asked, sounding a little disappointed. "But um, we can take a break. If you want to."

"Yeah, a break would be nice," Cedric said distractedly, his eyes still on Luna and Krum.

"Do you want something to drink?" Cho asked again. "I'll go get – "

"Thank you," Cedric said quickly, cutting her words short. "I'll meet you by the champions' table, Cho. I'm going to go say hi to someone."

"Wait, who are you – "

But Cedric wasn't listening. He'd made his way toward where Luna and Krum were, pushing past the many dancing bodies of his fellow school-mates. He was determined though, and he reached the couple in no time. Ignoring all of the proper etiquette on formal dances, he tapped Krum on his shoulder, who looked shocked to find him there.

"Diggory," the Bulgarian said, giving him a tense smile. "Iz there anything zat – "

"Can I talk to Luna? I promise it won't be long," Cedric said monotonously, almost drawling.

"Ah, vell…" Krum looked both confused and wary. "Luna, _skŭpi moĭ_ , do you vant to talk to him?"

"Oh, piss off, _"_ Cedric said rather loudly, it was fortunate that everyone was too busy dancing to the loud music to pay attention. "Go mind your own business, you snob."

Krum's black eyes darkened as he glared murderously at Cedric. But the Head Boy didn't even flinch. The Bulgarian was bigger than most of the guys at Hogwarts, but Cedric was _much_ taller. The both of them were standing nose-to-nose when Krum spoke. "Haven't you had enough, _pretty boy_? You broke her heart already."

"You – "

"Stop it, you two," Luna said, pushing the two of them apart. "Krum, you wait here, okay? I'll go talk to Cedric."

"But, Luna – "

"I'll be right back in a few minutes. Come on, Cedric."

Following Luna out of the Hall, Cedric made sure he gave Krum the two-finger salute before they both got out. He smirked in contempt at the Bulgarian, who clenched his jaw in anger. Once outside, he noticed that there was only a handful of people out there, most of them were still in the Hall. Everything was so quiet, even the people there didn't make a sound. It caught him off guard when Luna turned around and glared at him. In all the years he knew the girl, Luna had _never_ lost her temper. Especially not at him. But right there and then, she looked so mad at him, Cedric almost didn't recognise her.

"What do you want, Cedric?" Luna asked. Despite the look of fury flashing in her pale-blue eyes, her voice sounded remarkably calm. "Do you want to humiliate me further?"

" _What?_ Of course not!" Cedric said quickly, shaking his head. "Luna, I- I know things have been…have been a little tense between us. And I'm sorry for that. I really do."

"Okay. That's fine. I forgive you," Luna said coolly, sounding so much unlike the girl he knew. "Is that it? If it is, I'll go back inside."

"Wait, wait, wait!" he called, grabbing her hand. "That's… It's not the only thing I wanted to say."

"What else then? What more do you want to say to me?"

It took awhile for Cedric to say something. "Luna, what are you doing with Krum?"

When Luna yanked her hand from his, Cedric couldn't help himself from flinching. "He asked me to be his date. I said yes."

"Was it before or after… _that_ day?" Cedric asked awkwardly.

 _("I love you.")_

 _("Please, don't make fool of yourself.")_

"Why do you care?"

"Because I do. Y-you're my friend, Luna. I don't want anyone to hurt you."

"That's rich, coming from you."

"Luna, please – "

"Need I to remind you who was it that made me cried that day? In front of _everyone_? In front of the same people who take pleasure in making my life hell?"

"Luna, I told you, I'm sorry – "

"And I told you, I forgive you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to my date."

When Luna pushed him off her so she could go back inside the Hall, it took him awhile to realise that she left. It was probably why he spoke so carelessly.

"He's going to hurt you!" Cedric called out. "He's a celebrity. His whole life, he's surrounded by girls. Trust me, he's going to hurt you."

"That's where you're wrong," Luna said without turning around, her voice so low Cedric almost didn't hear her. "I was going to kill myself that day, you know. But he saved me. I ran into him, and he got me into telling him what was wrong. We became friends ever since. Pretty much the same way you and I became friends, Cedric. Except, I know better now not to fall in love with him."

"Luna – "

"You and Cho are perfect together. Have a nice night."

Cedric watched helplessly as the blonde went back inside the Hall. He knew he'd messed up. He messed up really bad. That day when Luna told him about her feelings, Cedric was completely caught off guard. All his life, he knew he cared for Luna more than what was normal. But he always thought that was because they were friends. But when she said those three words, only then did Cedric realise the truth. Slowly, it became clear to him why he cared so much about the Ravenclaw. He couldn't say _it_ though. He couldn't say the word back to her. Not when there were so much people around. He was four years older than her, practically an adult, seeing that he would turn eighteen in April. Luna was only thirteen, still a child. He could just imagine how people would talk. It wasn't like he was ashamed. It was more because he didn't want to smear her name. He probably wasn't as wild as his Ted Edwards, but Cedric had been with a few girls before. People had already been talking about his friendship with Luna, and most of the stuffs they said were horrible.

 _("I love you.")_

So that day, Cedric panicked, and did the most horrible thing he could think of.

 _("Please, don't make a fool of yourself.")_

" _Fuck,"_ Cedric groaned, lowering himself onto the floor, his back leaning against the wall. He knew it would be impossible to patch things up between them. Heck, even _he_ wouldn't blame Luna if she hated him now.

"Language, Diggory," a gruff voice said, causing Cedric to jerk in surprise. He was too deep in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody had come out of the Hall.

"I'm sorry, sir," Cedric muttered. "I…I thought no one was around."

"Hm… Scoot over, lover boy." Nudging Cedric aside with his foot, Moody then dropped unceremoniously beside the Hufflepuff, grunting in half-pain and half-annoyance when his leg clang loudly against the floor. He shifted around a little with his hand in his pocket, before pulling out a flask of drink and pushed the container into Cedric's hand.

"Sir?"

"I always keep a little Ogden to myself. Just don't tell Dumbledore I gave it to you. Well, but I guess it's alright. You're technically an adult now, aren't you, boy?"

"Um, thank you, sir," Cedric said. He noticed that the flask was different than the one he often saw Moody drank from. When the Auror told him to drink up, he nodded his head and did as he was told. He grimaced a little when he realised he hadn't eaten since morning, from the way his stomach reacted to the alcohol.

"So? What's the deal between you and Lovegood?"

The question took Cedric off guard. "We're…we're friends. But we have a little disagreement."

 _("I love you.")_

"Yeah, right. And I'm Lord Voldemort." Moody huffed, looking thoroughly unimpressed with Cedric's lie. "Look, boy. If you don't want to tell me, then it's alright. I'm not going to push you. But _never_ lie to me. Greater wizards than you have tried it, believe me."

"I didn't mean to offend you, professor. I'm sorry," Cedric quickly said. "It's just… I'm a bit uncomfortable to talk about it to you."

"I can understand that. It's hard talking about your feelings with _anyone._ I've been there, boy. And trust me when I say it's _horrible._ "

Cedric really couldn't imagine _the_ Alastor Moody, one of the greatest Aurors in all of Europe other than Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, as a teenager being a love-struck fool.

"How's your egg? You found a way to solve the puzzle yet?"

The whole thing with the Yule Ball had made him completely forgot about it. "No, sir. I haven't. And I really don't know what to do, honestly."

"Well, have you tried dipping it into the water?"

Cedric frowned. _"Water?"_

Moody nodded his head. "Yes, son. Water. Merlin, you're not deaf, right? Pretty sure I was pretty clear… Try dipping into the water, Diggory. It will work. Trust me."

"Thank you, sir," Cedric said, feeling a lot lighter as he shook Moody's hand. "Thank you very much."

"Don't mention it, son… We better go back inside, by the way. Or else people will start wondering."

"Sir?" Cedric said, before Moody went back into the Hall.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you doing this? Why do you help me?"

For a split second, Cedric thought Moody _smiled_ at him. But he thought he was imagining it when the Auror shrugged, looking as menacing as always.

"I like you, boy. You're smart. You'd be great as an Auror. And I always think you sort of remind me of someone."

"Who? I mean, if you don't mind me as – "

But Moody had gone back inside the Hall. Cedric was frozen in his spot for quite sometime. He found the whole encounter bizarre. There was the little part in him, the part that always did his rational thinking for him, that felt a little suspicious. He pushed it aside though, telling himself he was just being paranoid because he just had a rather bad night. Straightening his suit, Cedric went back inside and looked for Harry Potter.

He had a debt to pay.

 _("I love you.")_

 _("Please don't be a fo – ")_

(Shut up, brain.)

* * *

When his mother told him that he wasn't allowed to see the dress, Draco was annoyed. He wanted to know how Hermione's dress looked like so he could imagine how she looked in it. But his mother was insistent, saying that it would all be a surprise. The only thing his mother said about the dress was that the colour matched his eyes. So Draco spent the rest of the days before the Ball picturing how the dress looked whenever he saw his own reflection in the mirror. It wasn't that easy though. His eyes were grey, like the rest of the Malfoy-Black men, and he could conjure up a thousand different dresses with that colour in mind. In the end, he relented to waiting for the day of the Yule Ball. He tried hard not to badger Hermione into telling him about her dress when she got the dress from his mother. Not only she would hex him for it, but also because he finally agreed that if the dress was a surprise, it would be so much better. So he waited for the day of the Ball, counting down the days impatiently.

And the wait was _definitely_ worth it.

He was waiting with Blaise and Theo by the front door of the Great Hall, his friends also were waiting for their dates respectively. Theo was going with Tracey Davis while Blaise was going with Daphne Greengrass. When Diggory came with Chang, he couldn't help but to scowl at the back of the Hufflepuff's head. Draco had always been observant, and because he weirdly enough cared for Lovegood, he had always known about the girl's crush on the older boy. It was actually pretty obvious, and Draco thought Diggory was a huge arse for not realising it in the first place. Oh, he knew about the fight the two had. Probably everyone in Hogwarts, including the professors. Easy to say, Diggory wasn't exactly his favourite person at the moment. His glare toward the Head Boy was cut when Fleur Delacour came into his view, flirting with Diggory. Hastily, he told his friends to look away, lest they did something stupid like Weasley did. For some reason, Draco was never that affected when the part-Veela, a little information he got from Potter, was around. It could be because Draco had Veela ancestors too. But he preferred his mother's explanation, the one about how men who truly loved their partners would never be affected by the Veela Charm. He never thought about it, but he always liked entertaining the idea that what he felt for Hermione was something _that_ strong.

He realised that it _was_ something more than a crush when the girl walked down the staircase.

Hermione was…beyond description. Draco had always been popular for being so eloquent, especially around girls. But when he saw Hermione, all of his brilliant vocabulary, filled with various adjectives, left him. Hermione was wearing a pale-blue chiffon dress that kind of matched his eyes. The bodice was studded with sparkly material that shimmered under the light, and the rest of the dress was long and flowy which made her looked like a princess. Draco moved almost automatically toward the girl, his cheeks almost hurt when he felt his lips tugged into a huge smile. Linking his hand with hers, he gave a wink and told her that her dress did match his eyes. He knew he should tell her how beautiful she looked, but right at that moment, he couldn't come up with any single decent compliment that served her beauty justice. Except for their friends, the moment everyone saw him with Hermione, they all began to talk. He had expected it though, so he ignored them all. He felt Hermione tensed beside him, and he patted her hand gently to assure her that she shouldn't worry about the rumours and gossip. When he told her that, she looked at him in that way that told him how annoyed she was at him.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"By now you should have known I don't care about rumours and gossips. I'm worried that some vengeful _idiot_ would try to hurt you again," Hermione said, taking one of his hand and put it on her her face, reminding him of the event just a few months prior.

Draco was touched. During his recovery after the torture he endured, Hermione had _never_ left his side. She always took care of him, keeping him company when she didn't have a class. She even stayed during night time, making sure he knew she was always with him whenever he woke up screaming from a nightmare. He was pretty sure that by then, he wasn't the only Malfoy who liked her. It didn't take his mother long to get along with Hermione, and he was sort of convinced that the same went for his father. Sure, Lucius didn't really show it like his wife did. But the little gestures such as inviting the girl to the Quidditch World Cup and spending so much money for her dress, were prove enough.

Caressing the girl's cheek softly with his thumb, Draco said, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. _We_ will be fine. I promise."

The bookworm looked sceptical, but thankfully she didn't argue him with that. It helped that the doors were opened, and all of the Triwizard Champions walked in with their partners. The first one was Viktor Krum and Luna Lovegood – much to everyone's utmost surprise. Draco himself was a little taken aback as well. But he was glad that the blonde went with Krum, wearing a dress that fit her perfectly. The second one to enter was Delacour with Roger Davies, and Draco knew that he wasn't the only who wanted to throw a show at Davies' cocky grin. Draco noted with pleasure the scowl on Diggory's face when he walked in with Cho Chang as the third in line, who looked quite pretty in her golden cheongsam, if Draco had to admit. Last but not least, it was Potter and Weaslette, whose green-dress was probably the only dress in the room that rivalled Hermione's. Draco saw how almost every professor froze for a split second when he saw Potter and Weaslette – especially his Godfather. Severus Snape looked like he'd seen a ghost, his face paled and his black eyes widened in shock. They all got over it rather quick though, especially Dumbledore who told Flitwick to immediately start the music.

It was probably the best time in his all fourteen years of life. He danced with Hermione many times, smiling fondly at the way the girl giggled every time he twirled her around. At first, she was a little tense, worrying too much on her steps. But after Draco told her to relax and let him lead, she danced brilliantly – like everything she did. He lost count how many songs they danced to. He didn't even realise that sometime after the second song, he too was grinning and laughing like the girl. They only stopped when the band took a break. The two agreed that they'd go take something to drink before heading outside for a walk. His attention was all set on the bookworm beside him, who kept on talking about everything. Like it always was whenever he was with her, the blond barely listened to anything she said. He liked hearing her talk, even though he never really paid attention. The fact that she looked really beautiful that night just added more reason to why he wasn't paying attention. He couldn't even get over how her doe-eyes shone in excitement as she talked about a mile a minute, how her crown-braid hair made her looked somewhat ethereal, and how her dress suited her really well. They walked down the shores of the Black Lake, away from the majority of people who were either inside the castle or some place else doing Merlin-knew-what.

"What do you want to do now?" Hermione asked, suddenly stopping. She'd taken off her heels and held them in one hand. Over her shoulders the jacket of Draco's suit, effectively protecting her from the chilly winds.

Draco frowned. "What? What do you mean?"

"Well, we've been walking around for half an hour now. I've probably talked your ear off by now. What do you want to do next? Do you want to go back dancing?"

"No, not really. Can we…" Draco trailed off, not wanting to sound too sappy.

Hermione cocked her head to the side. "Yes? Can we what?"

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Draco continued. "Let's just stay here. Talk some more. I promise _I_ will say something too."

Hermione chuckled and nodded her head. The lowered themselves under the tree by the Lake, and leaned on the bark, sitting closely next to each other. The bookworm didn't even waste her time and reminded Draco of his promise. "Well? What are we going to talk now, Draco?"

"Honestly? I don't know."

"You _don't_ know? You? The one guy who talks more than Harry and Ron combined?"

Draco scowled. "It's your fault for looking so bloody beautiful, Granger. I'd have to send my parents a thank-you gift because of you. I mean, from the moment you went down the stairs, I found myself unable to say something coherent. You're simply breath-taking to look at. My mind goes blank every time I look at you. And I think I can say the same for about eighty percent of the male population here."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Hermione said, rolling her eyes despite the blush on her face. "I don't look half as good as Ginny or Cho Chang do, let alone Fleur Delacour."

"Who said that? Show me the idiot who said that so I could give him a hex or two."

" _But it's true!_ I'm always the smart one. Never the pretty one. Haven't you seen the way I look every day? My plain face and monstrous hair?"

"Hermione, believe it or not, I don't care about your plain face and monstrous hair. I asked you to go to the Ball with me, didn't I?"

"That doesn't mean you think I'm pretty."

"Bloody hell, Granger – _we're practically dating by now!_ Ever since the end of our second year, we've been together all the time. I know we've never made it official, but I thought you were smart enough to deduce it. I wouldn't have dated you if I didn't you were pretty."

"Oh, so now you're saying that you date me because of my looks? Nice to know that, Malfoy. Nice to know that the guy who I _really_ like a great deal only – "

Draco lost it. Growling under his breath, the blond cupped the girl's face with his hands, and silenced her with a kiss. It started out a little sloppy at first because not only they were both inexperienced, but Hermione was still ranting when he pressed his lips against hers. But it didn't take them long to fall into the same rhythm as instincts took over. Draco's left hand went to wrap around Hermione's waist to pull her closer while his right hand went to cup the back of her head, tilting it into an angle that would make it easier for him to kiss her. Hermione's own hands had found their way circling around Draco's neck, pulling him even closer to deepen the kiss. The blond had pictured kissing the bookworm many times before, since the day he turned thirteen and realised what he felt for the girl was more than a simple crush. He had to say, whatever he imagined before was _no way_ as amazing or as breath-taking as the real thing. Her lips were soft against his, and the cute noises she made got him thinking of ungentlemanly thoughts. It took great will power for him to push her off him, and he let out a shuddering breath at the effort.

"Wow," Hermione breathed, sounding out of breath.

"Is it enough prove to you, Granger?" Draco asked, also panting. "Or do you want more?"

"No, no, no," the girl quickly said, and it made Draco laughed. "It's enough prove for me."

Draco grinned and gave Hermione's lips a quick peck. "So? What do you say?"

"About what?" Hermione asked back, though the glint in her eyes told him that she knew already what he meant.

Pulling the girl for another round of kissing, though shorter this time, he asked the question.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Hermione?"

The grin on the Gryffindor's face was absolute naughty, Draco was tempted to snog her senseless again. "Took you long enough to ask, Draco."

The Slytherin couldn't help himself from kissing her again. He didn't even care when she let out a loud squeal.

Hermione Granger had agreed to be his girlfriend, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

 **NOTES:** Hi, guys! Long time no see. Here's the long awaited chapter of the Yule Ball. I hope it's worth the wait. My sister kindly pointed out to me that there hadn't been any mention of a kiss between Draco and Hermione, so I decided this chapter would fit the moment. As for the dresses, I leave it all to your imagination. I just told you the colours so you all could picture the perfect dresses yourselves. Also, I picture Liu Yifei as the Cho Chang in this story. I love Katie Leung, but she's a little too tough and awesome for the soft-and-gentle looking Cho who is secretly a badass that I have in mind. Anyway, that's all. Thanks for reading guys!


	37. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 6

_("Promise me something. Please.")_

 _("Anything. I'll promise you anything, love.")_

 _("You have to let me go first. Let me go first, Marlene, because I_ can't _stand living without you. And I promise I'll come find you on the other side.")_

When Sirius finally came back home, he only got a glimpse of his Manor's living room before his fiancee literally jumped on him and hugged him tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck. His heart broke as he listened to Marlene's sobs, feeling guilty that he'd caused her so much sorrows. Cupping her face with his hands, Sirius didn't waste his time and kiss the woman of his life, making sure that she understood from the kiss about how much he loved her and missed her, and that he was sorry it took him so long to come back home to her. He barely pulled away from Marlene when Harry squeezed himself between the couple, hugging Sirius just as tightly as Marlene did. The boy had gotten _so tall,_ and there was an ache in Sirius' heart when he realised how much he'd missed. He turned his attention to Payne and Hunter, giving the both of them kisses on their foreheads. They were all his children, and he and Marlene were the parents. They were his family, and he'd die a thousand deaths for them.

Regulus was the second one to greet him after Marlene and his children. He knew how Regulus insisted to go with Remus when the werewolf took Charlie and Tonks to see him at Bathilda's house. If it weren't for the fact that he was dealing with matters regarding the Triwizard Tournament, the younger Black would have come. Therefore, when Regulus nearly tackled him to the ground to hug him, Sirius let him. Despite their age, Sirius sometimes still saw his brother as the shy and timid five year old who came to his room during thunderstorm. They were separated for almost two decades, and they only got close again. It felt like a cruel fate when he was captured and Regulus had to be the one to see it. But at least he was back home, with the brother he loved deeply. Sirius would make sure that he would do his best to keep his family safe, and to never leave them again.

That was why Sirius nearly lost it when he found out that somehow, Harry's name came out from the Goblet of Fire. Just when he thought everything would be alright, his boy had to be a part of the legendary dangerous tournament. It took Remus talking him out of it to stop him from hexing _Crouch_ , who he suspected as the one to enter Harry's name. He knew how the sadistic bat disliked Marlene strongly for the fact that she outranked him. Sirius felt it was perfectly reasonable for him to sue Crouch, even though he realised that his number one suspect should be Igor Karkaroff, who was an ex-Death Eater. But good ol' Remus told him to take it easy and leave it to Dumbledore to take care of everything. Sirius only agreed when he remembered that Moody would be teaching DADA that year, leaving the post of Head Auror for Sirius to take over. The Pureblood knew that with both Dumbledore and Moody around, Harry would be safe.

"What are you thinking about, love?" Marlene said, snapping Sirius off his reverie.

It was in the middle of the night, and they were in bed together. Marlene was tracing the BLOOD TRAITOR scar on Sirius' chest that the Death Eaters carved out as a form of torture. When the witch first saw it, she burst into tears. She cried so hard she alerted everyone else in the Manor. Long story short, Sirius successfully traumatised his family by accidentally showing the scar. Remus and Regulus got really mad about it, and they swore to make all the Death Eaters pay for what they did to Sirius. Dorcas tried everything she knew on Healing to make the scar gone, but it was to no avail. Irina suggested to have it remove the Muggle-way, and Sirius did as she suggested. But again, it didn't work. The only one who didn't fuss about it was Harry, but that was only because the boy knew how much Sirius hated it. Ever since then, except when he was with Marlene in their room, Sirius took extra-care to cover it up.

"Nothing," Sirius replied, giving Marlene a quick peck on her lips. "I was just thinking who was it that put Harry's name in."

"Hm… Well, if you ask me, I don't think it matters who put his name in. I think it's more important for us to find the solution to all of Harry's task."

Sirius smirked. "Isn't that called _cheating_ , Minister McKinnon?"

"Not really, no," Marlene laughed. "It's not cheating as long as no one finds out about it. And I bet you the other champions all get help."

"You're right. You're _always_ right, love."

"That's because I know how dumb you can be, Mister Auror."

"Again; you're right."

The coupled shared a long, deep kiss. Without breaking the kiss, Marlene shifted herself around so she was straddling the handsome Pureblood. This prompted Sirius to chuckle. "Mar, if you keep this up, we're going to explain to Harry why he's having another sibling."

"All right, all right," Marlene huffed mockingly, resorting to lying on top of Sirius, her head pressed on her fiance's chest. "We're not going to do that tonight. Fine."

The couple shared a laugh before they fell into a comfortable silence. They were quite for sometime in that position, both of them lulled by the calming sound of each other's breathing. It was awhile later when Sirius broke the silence. "Do you…do you remember that day when you found me up in the Astronomy Tower?"

 _("Black? What are you doing? Were you thinking of jumping?")_

Marlene tensed a little. "To be honest, it's not…it's not exactly a memory that I look back fondly. But yeah, I- I remember that day."

 _("Sod off, McKnickers. What do you care anyway.")_

"Actually, I wasn't going to jump... I know Lily didn't tell you, but the night before, she saw me stumbling into the common room, bloody and bruised. She took me to the newly hired Madam Pomfrey, and insisted I got taken care off. That was pretty much how the fiery flower and I became friends, really."

"What were you doing then, up there? If you weren't going to jump."

There was a long pause before Sirius answered.

"I… I was praying."

To say that Marlene was caught off guard would be an understatement. After all, no matter how much Sirius tried to deny his heritage, the man was, first and foremost, the _purest_ of all Purebloods. There was a reason why he was one of the most feared Purebloods in all of Europe.

"And what did you pray for?" Marlene asked slowly, once she recovered from the shock.

"I asked for a miracle," Sirius said, looking straight into Marlene's eyes with pure love and adoration in his stunning grey eyes. "I had no one, remember? I was just disowned, my brother wouldn't talk to me, and I just got into a fight with my friends. So, I asked the Big Guy for a miracle, if He truly was the divine and ultimate Being in our universe, like what the Muggles believed. I told Him that I needed a reason for me to keep going – for a _miracle._ And then you came, the miracle I asked for."

Marlene could still remember that night very clearly, as if it just happened the other day. The year was 1976, and it was their sixth year. Everyone had heard of the news about Sirius being disowned by his parents just a week before the summer ended. Being neighbours with the Longbottoms, who were part of the Sacreds, Marlene knew from her brother, who was friends with Frank Longbottom, about how Fleamont Potter didn't waste a time to adopt Sirius the moment the rebel Flooed into his home, barely alive because of all the beatings he received from his parents. As the Heir to the Black fortune, Sirius had to deal with a lot of the Slytherins who felt that since he was no longer an official Black, they could do whatever they wanted with him. Typical of Sirius, instead of reporting it to his friends, at the very least, the proud bastard took it upon himself to deal with all of them.

One day, he just snapped.

 _("I get that life's been a bitch to you, but to risk_ two _lives because you felt like you had enough… For Merlin's sake; one of them is your own best friend!")_

 _("I know. I'm sorry. Prongs, I really – ")_

 _("Don't call me that. Only my friends_ _are allowed to call me by that name.")_

 _("No… Don't say that. Don't…don't do this.")_

 _("And to think, I wanted you to be my_ brother…" _)_

 _("James, please – ")_

 _("You disgust me, Black. Turns out you're no different than_ them. _")_

Marlene had never seen someone so heartbroken.

"I fell for you right then and there, you know?" Sirius said softly as he absentmindedly traced circles on her arm. "With Evans, it was different. She was fussy. _Mothering._ Told me what to do and what not to do the whole time I stayed in infirmary. You though, you were different. You've _always_ been different. When you walked into the Astronomy Tower that night, I knew you'd be the one to guide me through everything. You're my light when everything is dark, Mar."

"Why did you purposely cheat on me though? In seventh year. We'd been going out for a few months, and everything was going so well." It had been almost two decades and Marlene was still bitter about it. She always hated the thought that there'd been other girls that had kissed Sirius too other than herself.

Sirius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I told you I did it because I was scared. I was so in love with you, and yet I didn't have anything to offer you. And I heard from Longbottom how your parents were looking into marrying you off with someone who _wasn't_ a troublesome punk like me. It wasn't easy but for your happiness, I willingly traded my own."

"Thank goodness Remus and Dorcas got together in time to set us back together again quickly," Marlene said, mock-glaring at Sirius. "And I swear to Merlin, Sirius; if you do something like that again, I'll rip your balls off with bare hands."

"Love," Sirius laughed, burying his face in Marlene's hair. "If I ever do something like that again, I'll personally hand over my balls to you. Though technically, you've owned them since the day you walked into the Astronomy Tower."

The couple shared another round of laughter, feeling contempt for the first time in years. Christmas was coming in a week, and they had a relatively calm year, save for the fact that Harry was a Triwizard Champion. They had _three_ amazing children whom they loved dearly, two nephew and niece that they adored so much, and brothers and sisters that they trusted more than anything in their lives. Marlene didn't think it was possible for her life to get even better because all she ever wanted was a nice life that she could enjoy it with her family.

That was, until Sirius decided to break the silence again.

"Hey, Mar?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's get married."

* * *

Ron had only been to a wedding once before, in all of his fourteen years of life. He was only seven back then. It was the marriage of one of his father's many cousins, who then moved to Switzerland just months after the wedding. That was the only wedding he'd ever been too. Having six siblings meant that it was impossible for his parents to take them all with them to weddings and such, unless it was family. As a boy, Ron didn't care much about it. From the only wedding he'd been too, Ron had already decided that if he ever got married, it would be the simplest wedding of the century. He'd only invite his really close friends and direct families. He simply didn't have the patience to deal with all of the details required from weddings. Besides, since his family was rather poor, he thought that a simple wedding would be the best option.

That was why his eyes still couldn't believe how _grand_ everything was, as he entered the Main Entrance of the Black Manor, where the wedding of the century was held.

 _The wedding of Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon._

The wedding was held on Christmas Day, with only six days of preparation. Everyone called it a Fairytale Wedding because of how amazing it was for such fancy and glamorous wedding to be held with only such little time. Ron heard from Harry that there would be two thousand people in attendance, and that it was all the work of Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks. With two children and one Godson, and their respective jobs demanding their time, Sirius and Marlene trusted the two Tonks women to take care of everything. According to Harry, his Godfather merely gave a _large_ sum of money to his cousin, saying that he didn't care what the mother and daughter planned for the wedding as long as it was safe from danger and unwanted visitors such as reporters like Rita Skeeter. Since the instruction was very vague, the Tonks women agreed that once the safety issue was dealt with, they'd use the rest of the budget to make sure Sirius and Marlene had a great wedding.

However, Ron later found out that there was actually one other request Sirius made.

And he found out about it with the rest of the guests once the wedding started.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, we are all gathered here to celebrate the union of two souls; my own big brother and the love of his life."_

"I don't know Mr Black could marry off people," Ron heard Hermione whispered to Malfoy. She was sitting next to the blond in the front row, seeing that she was without her parents because they were Muggles. The wedding had just begun, and she wasn't the only one who was a little taken aback upon seeing Regulus Black acting as the wedding minister.

"As Head of the Sacreds, he's allowed to do practically _everything,"_ Malfoy explained slowly, tilting his head to the side so Hermione could listen to him. "The Founding Families, formally and legally known as _Fundactricis Familias,_ were the ones who not only founded the Ministry, but also the ones who came up with _Lex Magicae –_ the Law of Magic. There are seven families that are known as part of the Familias. They are the Blacks, the Malfoys, the Longbottoms, the Gaunts, the Ollivanders, the Fawleys and the Potters. Out of the seven families, the Potter family is the only that is no longer included in the Sacreds, because of their rather…impure status in the eyes of the Pureblood Law. Anyway, because the Head of the Black family has always been the Head of the Sacreds for centuries, one of the rules they made was about the Head of the Sacreds having the power to marry off people."

The look of pure admiration on Hermione's face as she listened to Malfoy's explanation made Ron wanted to puke.

"You really have to show me the books about the Sacreds one day," Hermione said, looking at Malfoy as if he just proposed to her.

"Of course," Malfoy replied with a smile, giving the girl's hand a kiss.

Apparently, Ron wasn't the only who had enough with the interraction between the couple

"Draco, stop talking," Lucius said flatly. "You can continue romancing Miss Granger after the ceremony is done."

"Yes, Father," Malfoy replied, chastised.

"Do you, Sirius Orion, take Marlene Elizabeth…?"

Ron was sure that Sirius was barely listening to a word his brother said, judging from the way he was staring at Marlene. From the moment Marlene walked down the aisle with Remus Lupin, the handsome Pureblood's eyes were practically glued to the stunning vision that was his future wife. Standing beside the groom was Harry, who cried when Sirius asked him to be his bestman. Dorcas Lupin was maid of honour while Irina Black was the bridesmaid with Nymphadora Tonks. Little Payne was the flower-girl-slash-ring-bearer. The three-year-old insisted to her parents that she was more than capable to do both jobs all by herself. Ron might not know a lot about weddings, but from what he saw, he could tell that everything went smoothly.

"And by the power vested in me as the Head of the Sacred Twenty Eight, I hereby pronounced you bonded for life. Brother, you may now snog your newly married wife."

There was a round of chuckles from all of the guests as Regulus waved his wand over Sirius and Marlene, the silver rain that came from his wand slowly turned into a glowing golden ribbon that surrounded the newly married couple, the Bonding Charm offically Sealed them as couples for life. The guests all clapped when Sirius spent a good twenty-five seconds kissing Marlene, earning cheers and whistles as well, especially when they finally pulled apart. A House-Elf then made an appearance, announcing that reception would be held in the vast backyard of the Black Manor. In unison, everyone moved from the Manor's Grand Ballroom to the backyard, where there were tables and chairs set for the guests. Ron was quite surprised that his family was included in the VIP area with the Tonks, the Malfoys, and the Longbottoms. They were all given a piece of cake and wine, or juice for the underage, as they waited for the groom and bride to make their entrance.

The newly married Blacks' entrance was accompanied by the sound of an unfamiliar song that Ron could only guess as a Muggle one. Everyone cheered when the couple went to take their posistion to start their first dance. From where he was sitting, Ron heard Hermione squealed that the title of the song was _Annie's Song_ by a Muggle American singer named John Denver, also adding how she absolutely loved the song. Ron had to agree, the song really was beautiful, and fit the occasion really well. The Lupins and the other Black couple were the ones who first joined the dance, the mentaking their respective wives to take their positions not far from the married couple, who looked far too engrossed with each other to realise when the first song had ended. Shortly before the second song ended, Ron saw Harry made his way toward him. Thinking that his best friend wanted to talk to him, Ron waved his hand at the green-eyed bloke. Therefore, it was perfectly understandable for Ron to be shocked when Harry gave his hand to Ginny and asked her to dance with him, causing his little sister to blush furiously. On the other table, refusing the fact that he'd been one-upped, Ron saw Malfoy quickly asked Hermione to dance with him. By the time the third song had begun, a lot of people had joined the dance as well.

The twins were the first ones between all the Weasleys to join the dance. They had gone to dance with their Quidditch team mates, Fred with Angelina Johnson while George with Katie Bell. Their parents joined them shortly, followed by Charlie and Tonks who quickly stole the show with their dancing when the music changed into something more up-beat. Percy, on the other hand, was busy talking with his friend Oliver Wood, walking side-by-side along the the forest that was still part of the Black property. Ron remembered Harry telling him one day that the forest that surrounded the Black Manor was as ancient as the one that surrounded Hogwarts. The young Seeker said that the land had been the property of the Black family since the very first Black, Arthfael, who was said to be part-fae. It was believed that he was the illegitimate son of the Fae Queen Mab of the Winter Court. According to Harry, magic felt extremely strong during winter times all over the property. He even noticed that there were times when he noticed that Sirius' and Regulus' appearances looked rather different during winter; their skinned lightened and their hair darkened almost to a blue shade. Harry suspected that their fae bloodline was the reason why the brothers were such great wizards, and why they looked the most comfortable at the Manor than anywhere else in the world.

"Well damn, Ginny looks like she's going to explode," Bill whistled, eyeing their little sister. The oldest Weasley was the only one left sitting with Ron.

"She looked exactly like that during the Yule Ball too," Ron answered, smiling fondly even though he had half a mind to punch Harry for having the audacity to ask his little sister to dance _two times._

"What about you, kid? Who did you go to the Ball with? I heard from Percy, who came to visit that night, that you had someone with you."

Ron felt his ears going red in an instant, and he could only imagine they got worse when he saw the smirk on his big brother's face. "I'm going to kill that prat," Ron muttered, earning a chuckle.

"How did you get to go with the daughter of a Slytherin Sacred anyway?" Bill asked, sobering up with a curious look on his face. "The Slytherin Sacreds are known to be very prejudiced. Most of them look down to us Weasleys because they consider us blood-traitors, even though we're a Sacred too. She's a Greengrass. I went to school with her cousin, and he was an arrogant prick."

"I don't feel like talking about it, to be honest. I think I'll go get some air."

 _"Aw, come on!_ We're already outside, for Merlin's sake!"

"Talk to you later, brother."

Ron ignored his big brother calling out his name, and made his way into the Manor. He'd been around for a couple of times before, and even though he hadn't completely memorised everything, he knew enough to make his way around to the room where he usually stayed in whenever he came to visit. His conversation with Bill brought back memories of the Yule Ball. When Harry told him that he should go ask Astoria Greengrass to the Ball, Ron thought his friend had gone crazy. The Seeker explained that it was the perfect solution to Ron's dateless problem, seeing that Harry was going Ginny. Ron still found it hard to believe that Harry had suggested such a thing to him, no matter how many times Harry repeated his suggestion. He even forgot to punch Harry in the face when the young Seeker revealed, _carefully,_ that he was taking Ginny to the Ball. Ron barely knew the Greengrass girl, except for the fact that she befriended his little sister, and that she was the younger sister of Malfoy's House-mate. In the end, Ron agreed that his best friend was right. So, just a week before the Ball, Harry took Ron to Ginny's Charms class that she shared with her Slytherin friend.

 _("You… Well, um, you look nice, Green - I mean, Astoria.")_

 _("Thank you… Y-you don't look so bad either, Mr Weasley.")_

All his life, Ron was told by his parents to be wary of Slytherins. He didn't hate them, but he _was_ wary of people from the House of the Serpent. When he first met Malfoy, the animosity they both had was instantly created. It was no secret that Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy were nemesis back when they were at Hogwarts. It was only normal that their children inherited the feud as well. Therefore, Ron truly never saw the possibility of himself being somewhat civil with the young Malfoy. If he was to be honest, he could now even call the Slytherin his _friend._ But Ron accepted it, no matter how preposterous it was. After all, despite everything else, both he and Malfoy had something in common, which was their love toward Quidditch. The fact that they both cared deeply for Hermione _and_ Harry just added the reason to their weird friendship. After four years, Ron no longer had a problem accepting Malfoy as his friend.

However, the last thing he expected, was to meet someone like Astoria Greengrass.

The sweet, soft-spoken, and lovely Slytherin who was like an angel among the lot of malicious snakes.

Harry and Ginny had agreed that they'd go with Ron to pick up Astoria from the Slytherin Dungeon, lest any older Slytherin would try to hex Ron and Astoria if they were alone. Ron was a little apprehensive, still worrying that he looked like terrible in his dress robes, even though they were ones that Harry's family bought for him. The thought flew right out of his mind when he saw Astoria standing patiently in front of the entrance to the Slytherin common room. She was wearing a white, halter-necked, mermaid dress that fit her newly-cut hair perfectly. Her make-up was modest, a lot like his sister's, but that only made her looked even more angelic, especially when her big blue eyes beamed at the sight of him. Ron knew he wasn't that good with words. His mouth had no filter, and he often stumbled upon his own words when he was nervous. But he was positively convinced that he had dumbed down by eighty percent at the sight of the petite Slytherin.

The two made quite the impression when they came together, hand in hand. Nearly all of the Slytherins glared at her, their disapproval was pretty obvious even for the blind to see. Except for Malfoy and his friends, the Slytherins all had hostile looks in their eyes, even Astoria's own big sister. He felt how his date shrunk in fear at their scrutiny, and like a switch, he instantly became protective of her. Tightening his grip around her hand, Ron pulled her closer, as if to say that anyone who dared to mess with her had to deal with him. That seemed to anger the Slytherins even more, and Ron knew that if it wasn't for the fact that all of the professors were gathered there in the Hall with them, those stuck-up Pureblods would probably send a hex or two on their way. They had a great time together, dancing along to Merlin-knew how many songs. When it was time for bed, Ron gentlemanly dropped her off in front of the Slytherin common room, after making sure that one of Malfoy's friend, Nott, would look after her.

" _Ouw!"_ a girl squeaked when Ron ran right into her, just metres away from the room where he was headed. She was half-running, and the force caused her nearly to fall over. Lucky for her, Ron was quick enough to catch her hand before she fell.

"Merlin, I'm sorry. I didn't – Astoria?" Ron said, even when he felt his ears going red at the thought that the girl he had been thinking about suddenly just appeared right in front of him.

"Oh, hi, Ronald," the girl muttered, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear nervously. "I- I thought you were Potter."

Ron smiled, shaking her head. "Nah, it's just me. Harry's out there, dancing with my sister. Seeing at the rate he's going, I have no doubt that he'll probably ask her out next year."

"Well, that's good," Astoria replied, also smiling. "Merlin knows how long Ginny has liked him. I mean, she's had the biggest crush on him since forever, right?"

"Yeah. Except, I think Harry also likes Cho Chang." When he thought how it'd break Ginny's heart if Harry asked Chang out instead of his sister, Ron suddenly felt like breaking his friend's nose.

"Really?" Astoria asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah. Just don't tell anyone about it," Ron quickly added.

It made the Slytherin smiled again, and Ron decided that she had a pretty smile. "I won't tell anyone. I promise."

They were quiet for sometime until Ron felt the atmosphere was getting too awkward. "What are you doing here? In here, I mean. I saw your family out there, sitting with the Notts."

"I was looking for the loo… What about you?"

"I'm going to my room, to avoid my annoying brother. Harry and his family are nice enough to give me my own room, since I spend a lot of time here during the holiday. I think Hermione and Malfoy have theirs as well. Separately, of course. Not together because that would be highly inappropriate." Ron felt like slapping himself in the face for being really stupid.

"Of course," Astoria said, smiling as she nodded her head in agreement, seemingly uncaring of the fact that Ron just babbled like an idiot. She tucked another loose strand of her hair behind her ear before speaking again. "Well, I think I should I go back. My parents are probably looking for me."

"I'll walk you back in," Ron offered. He was a little taken aback when Astoria quickly shook her head.

"No, I don't think that'd be a good idea," she said, giving him a sad smile. "It's not that I don't want you to. I just… My parents don't like it when my sister told them I went to the Ball with you. So…"

"I get it," Ron said, reaching out for her hand to give it a light squeeze. "I'm not offended, really. I'm used to it."

"I'm sorry. I really am," Astoria said, patting their clasped hands with her free one.

Ron shook his head, smiling in assurance. "Don't worry about it, Astoria. You go ahead then, lest your parents send out a search party."

Her laugh sounded like the soft chime of a bell, almost pixy-like. She gave him a departing nod before she made her way to the backyard. Before she took a turn, she stopped and turned around toward him. "You're a good person, Ronald Weasley. You really are."

"Thank you," Ron said, feeling himself beaming at her. "And I told you to call me Ron, didn't I?"

Astoria laughed. "Well, only if you promise to call me Tori."

* * *

 **NOTES:** Hello! I'm back - FINALLY! Whew, second year of college is absolute EXHAUSTING. I barely have time to do anything that is not studying, honestly. I'm now in the middle of my mid-term exam, actually. But I really didn't feel like delaying an update any longer, so I tried my best to finish this chapter so I could update tonight. As usual, I haven't proof-read it. So, I'm sorry for that. Hopefully, you guys like this new chapter. AND OH, ONE MORE THING! I want to ask you guys something. Since I'm keeping Hinny as one of the few canon pairings here, do you want them to be together in Harry's sixth year (which is canon) or much sooner? Tell me what you think, okay? Anyway, thanks for reading :)


	38. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 7

**NOTES:** Hello! Wow, it's been quite sometime since I updated this quick. There are a couple of things I'd like to say first before we begin with the story. Firstly, I know Cedric in this story is a bit OOC, but that's because I love Robert Pattinson so much teehee, I like the idea of a Cedric that kinda acts like him. Secondly, someone asked me about what was carved out on Sirius' chest during the torture scene in the first chapter of third year. Well, I just made some changes in the previous chapter, mentioning about those words. If you want to, you can go back to the previous chapter and read it. If you don't, I'll just tell you here that the words are 'BLOOD TRAITOR'. Alright, I think that's all. As usual, happy reading!

* * *

"That's Gillyweed for real?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I – "

"So you can guarantee that's not some _poisonous,_ Tibetan roots instead?"

"N-no, I swear – "

"Because you wouldn't want to go to Azkaban for accidentally killing _the_ Harry Potter."

"Back off, Malfoy," Harry grumbled, nudging at the blond's ribs roughly. His mood was terrible, he was nervous for his second task, _and_ he couldn't find his best friend anywhere.

"Well, sorry for caring then," Malfoy replied, pouting immaturely as he crossed his hands in front of his chest. "I mean, it's nice that Regulus happens to remember his _fourth_ year Herbology lesson. But couldn't you have asked someone who is _not_ Longbottom? For all we know, he could have picked you some nightshade beries instead."

"Neville happens to be the best in our year when it comes to Herbology, Draco," Hermione replied. "He's even better than the both of us."

"All right, all right. I'll shut up now," the Slytherin said, waving his hand in mock-defeat.

"Thank you," Harry said. He looked over his shoulder back into the Gryffindor common, as if by checking for the umpteenth time, Ron would finally appear. When the ginger in question didn't show up, he sighed heavily and said, "Come on, then. Let's just go. We don't have much time."

"He's probably already there with Ginny and the twins," Hermione offered an explanation kindly. "Maybe he went with his siblings after breakfast. You know how hungry he can be in the morning."

"I suppose," Harry muttered half-heartedly, still feeling a bit glum over Ron's absence.

It was the day of Second Task. After Cedric Diggory told him to try dipping the egg into water, it didn't take him long to figure out that the Second Task was talking about the Black Lake. He came with the conclusion that he'd have to retrieve something from under the Black Lake, and he was given an hour to do so. He never tried asking for help from his Godparents, thinking that they'd disapprove the idea of cheating. But it was actually Sirius himself who asked him whether there was anything that he could help Harry with. When Harry told him about the Second Task, the Head Auror immediately asked all of the adults in the Manor for their help. Remus, Marlene and Dorcas suggested the Bubble Head Charm. But Harry after a few tries in the Manor's pool, Harry learned it the hard way that he had zero focus to keep the Charm going after fifteen minutes. Harry had even tried asking Irina, who told him that he could try using diving equipment, before bursting into giggles when she realised how hilarious it would be. It was actually Regulus who told him to use Gillyweed, remembering it from his fourth year Herbology lesson. Knowing that Neville was the best when it came to Herbology, he contacted the timid boy, asking whether he knew where Harry could get some Gillyweed.

Neville's response came immediately, just a day after Harry sent him a letter. He said that he saw Professor Sprout had them in her office. Neville promised that he'd try to ask the professor for some once they came back to school. Unfortunately, the professor ran out of her private stock of Gillyweed. It was a week before the Task and Harry was freaking out. He had resumed himself to the fact that he'd have to try the Bubble Head Charm instead, when Neville came bursting into the boy's dormitory the night before the Task, a little pale and out of breath, but he was grinning joyously. It turned out that when he was taking his extra lesson from Professor Moody, he overheard Sirius' boss talking to a visiting McGonagall about whether Harry would ever find out about Gillyweed to help him. The man then laughed aloud, saying that if Harry even knew about Gillyweed, the only way for him to get some was to steal from Snape's storage. Long story short, once Neville was done with his class, he quickly went to the dungeon to steal the Gillyweed.

Harry would always be greatful for the other boy's help.

"What do you suppose it is that they take from Harry?" he heard Hermione asked Malfoy when he was getting ready. Harry was standing beside Cedric, ready to jump into the water after swallowing the Gillyweed dryly.

"I don't know," came Malfoy's reply. "Must be something that's really important to him."

"His Firebolt, maybe? It is _very_ important to him. He practically sleeps with it."

"I do not sleep with my Firebolt!" Harry yelled, glaring at Hermione and Malfoy, who laughed at him.

"Potter, focus!" Moody barked, literally spinning Harry's head around with a quick flick of his hand so he'd face the Black Lake again.

The canon blew, signaling the start. Harry quickly jumped into the water, feeling himself changing already, thanks to the Gillyweed. He remembered Marlene telling him that he should go east, because that was where the lair of the mermaids was. Using Point Me, Harry immediately went in the direction, his newly transformed physique helped him to swim faster than what was human. He made sure he took the safest route, away from the Giant Squid or Grindylows, the route that Sirius reminded him countless times. As he neared the lair about fifteen minutes later, he briefly wondered how in the world his Godfather knew where the lair was. He was about to enter the the territory of the mermaid when he saw a red flare shooting up into the open air. His insides clenched at the thought that someone could have been seriously injured. Steeling himself, he proceeded to swim forward. He thought his horrible eye-sight was playing games with him when he saw four familiar figures were hovering just fifty metres away from him, tied down around their ankles. But after blinking his eyes a couple times, he realised that he wasn't wrong.

The first one that he saw was his best friend. Beside Ron was Luna Lovegood, then it was Cho Chang, and lastly it was the little French girl who could only be Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle. For a moment, seeing Ron's unmoving and pale face, Harry thought his friend was _dead._ But then he snapped out of it, thinking that there was no way Dumbledore would let his students be harmed for real. Taking out his wand, Harry cut the ropes loose so he could help Ron. He turned to his right, wand at the ready to cut Luna's ropes. That was when a mermaid came to him, warning him that he could only save one. He was about to argue with the mermaid when a spell narrowly missed his nose, cutting loose Luna's ropes. Turning around, he saw that it was Cedric with a Bubble Head Charm. At the same time, he saw a half-shark and half-human creature coming in their way, snatching Luna's hand before Cedric could. It took Harry awhile to realise it could only be Krum. If it weren't for the fact that he was in the middle of a competition, Harry would probably laugh at the way Cedric glared venomously at Krum's retreating figure. With a scowl on his face, Cedric cut Cho's ropes before he quickly swam after Krum, seemingly determined to beat the Bulgarian.

Harry looked around for the last time, expecting for Fleur to show up. But there was no sign of the French girl anywhere. Checking his watch, he began to panic when he saw the one hour limit was almost up. He feared that once it was an hour already, the spell that put Ron and Gabrielle asleep would break, and they'd wake up under the water. Harry decided that he couldn't leave Gabrielle behind, so he quickly shot a warning spell toward the mermaids so he could free Gabrielle without their interferance. Grabbing both Ron's and Gabrielle's hands, he began to make his way out of the water. Harry realised the effects of the Gillyweed was waning when it began to feel hard for him to swim. He knew it would be impossible for him to try to swim all the way back. The first thing that came into his mind was to tie Ron and Gabrielle together with the ropes that still clung to their ankles, so it'd be easier for him to hold on to them. He then prayed that the rope was strong enough to hold the weight of two people, before using the Ascending Charm to get out of water. The three of them ended up shooting up onto the platform where he'd jumped the down in the beginning, landing roughly in front of a worried Hermione.

" _HARRY, YOU'RE HERE!"_ Hermione screamed, hugging him tightly. "Draco! Draco, go get him a towel. For Ron and Gabrielle too. And tell Dumbledore that Harry's here!"

"I can see that already, Miss Granger," Albus Dumbledore said, standing behind Hermione with some thick towels, looking amused.

"Professor," the bookworm muttered, her face flushing red. Dumbledore smiled and passed the towels to Hermione.

"I believe you're more than capable to tend to Mr Potter and Mr Weasley, and Miss Delacour as well. And Mr Malfoy here can help you, of course," the Headmaster said, winking mischievously before leaving to talk to the mermaids.

Harry soon found himself wrapped in the thick towel Dumbledore gave by Hermione. Beside him, Malfoy was teasing Ron as he helped a trembling Gabrielle with her towel, after the Slytherin had made sure the ginger was properly bundled up in the towel. When Fleur came bounding toward them, tears falling profusely down her pretty face, she practically smothered her little sister with a bone-crushing hug, talking fast in French as she rubbed her hands up and down Gabrielle's smaller figure to warm her up. Harry's limited French was enough to help him understand that Fleur was attacked by Grindylow and was forced to quit early because her Bubble Head Charm broke. He was still trembling from top to toe, and was utterly taken aback when Fleur suddenly turned his attention to him, raining kisses all over his face as she told him countlessly how much she was thankful that he'd helped Gabrielle.

"Uh, o-okay," Harry stammered. "It's nothing, really. _Ce n'est pas grave._ "

"I'm forever in debted to you," Fleur said, her accent thick. "Once again, _merci. Merci beaucoup."_

Harry nodded robotically, watching silently as the two sisters left to join the rest of the Beauxbatons. He had no idea how long he stared at Fleur, and he'd only snapped out of it when he felt Hermione slapped the back of his head. Glaring at his best friend, he said, "What was that for?"

Hermione shrugged casually. "Just doing you a favour."

Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend, who stuck her tongue out immaturely. It was Malfoy actually, who acted mature for once, and went on to inform him the chronology about who finished the task first. Harry was quite surprised to find that Cedric finished first, despite Krum being the one swam toward the surface before Cedric did. The young Gryffindor marvelled just how fast the Head Boy must have gone. Krum turned up just mere seconds after Cedric. According to Malfoy, the two young men were seen trading insults venomously to each other even once they were both out of water, going nose to nose as they had a glaring match. Cedric had the advantage of height, but what Krum lacked in height he made up with his broad shoulders. It took Moody's glowering presence for them to back off in the end, even though they still threw daggers at each other from afar. If Harry wasn't so disheartened by the fact that he finished third, he'd probably be a bit amused by the story.

There was a few minutes of waiting as Dumbledore translated for the other judges what the head of the mermaid tribe recounted. Ron and Malfoy were teasing him about his 'stupid hero complex', earning quite an earful of reprimanding from Hermione. Harry barely listened though. He knew both boys were right. It had been a matter of discussion between his Godparents about his hero complex, something that he inherited from his father, according to his Godfathers. He was too busy sulking over his loss that it took Ron and Hermione hugging him, and Malfoy slapping his back roughly, for him to realise the announcement Dumbledore made. It turned out that because he'd have finished first if it weren't for the fact that he tried to save everyone, the judges granted him second place instead of third, tying in with Krum. Everyone cheered loudly upon the decision, even Cedric and Fleur. In an instant, his mood brightened and he began laughing. After all, his _stupid_ hero complex had turned out to be a good thing.

* * *

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He just _couldn't._

It couldn't be true. It was simply preposterous –

"Brother, do shut your mouth. It's _very_ unbecoming for the Head of the Sacred Twenty Eight to gape like an imbecile. I get that your wife is pretty, although mine is definitely prettier, but I'm going to disown you if you keep the goldfish look for another second. Besides, Irina will think twice about going on the date with you when she sees your stupid face."

Normally, Regulus would punch his brother for being an annoying arse. But as he _finally_ closed his mouth, the younger Black decided that he could care less about Sirius. At that moment, his wife – his love, his life, the reason he breathed – his Irina, was the center of his focus. Like it had _always_ been. From the moment he laid eyes on her all those years ago, Regulus had always been convinced that she was an angel. It was the only explanation for someone so beautiful, so kind, so _perfect,_ could only be an angel. As she exited the Main Bedroom that was Sirius' and Marlene's marrital bedroom, after spending the past two hours in there being dolled up by Marlene and Dorcas, Regulus was once again convinced of his belief that his wife was a celestial being. Her brown hair was styled in what he heard Marlene said was a 'chignon hairstyle' – not that he cared what it meant. All he knew was the style made his hand itched to run through her hair to unravel it as he did all kinds of pleasurable things to her. She was wearing an exquisite blue dress that not only matched her eyes, but also cost quite a fortune. It was a good thing that the Black vault in Gringotts, which was the biggest vault the bank could offer, was filled filled to the brim with gold. Even if Sirius one day decided to buy a small country, it wouldn't put a dent.

"Where are you taking her, Reg?" Remus inquired. The werewolf and the Black brothers were watching their wives giggling like teenagers as they asked Harry to take pictures of Irina.

" _Le Gavroche_ ," Regulus replied. "You know Irina's a Muggle. Back when we were still living as Muggles, we went passed it once and I saw how she looked at the place. But I didn't have the money back then. I mean, my art barely supported us. Especially when Astrid was born, and expenses got bigger, so…"

The Head of the Sacreds bowed his head as he trailed off, feeling embarrassed. He jerked a little bit when he felt his brother's hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he found Sirius giving him a smile. "You don't have to be ashamed about it. You did the best you could. And honestly? I am _so_ proud of you, Reg. You were every bit the perfect Pureblood son. Yet you threw all that away so you could be with her, the woman whose heritage you should have despised. Even I wouldn't have been able to do that. I wouldn't _dare_ to do that."

Regulus blinked his eyes a couple times as he hugged his brother, hoping that Sirius wouldn't notice the tears. "Thank you, Sirius. Thank you very much."

"Whatever for?" Sirius asked in return, sounding a little taken aback even as hugged Regulus.

"For forgiving me. For giving me a fresh start. For believing in me. For being my brother – the _best_ brother in the whole universe. For everything."

When Sirius barked out his trademark laugh, it sounded like he was holding back his own tears. "Aw, you sentimental fool. You shouldn't think much about it. You're my brother. I'd move heaven and hell for you. It's us against the world, remember?"

"Us against the world," Regulus echoed as he nodded his head, feeling like he was little boy again.

"Quit it with the long face, kid. You're taking your wife on a long, overdue date to London's most expensive restaurant, for Merlin's sake!" Sirius said, giving him a wink that made Regulus laughed. "Go waste Orion's money for me. Think of it as money-laundry."

"Okay, okay," Regulus chuckled. Making his way to his wife, he gave her the standard-issue of a gentleman's bow, took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. "I saw it in one of those movies you like and I always wanted to do it."

Irina laughed, and Regulus knew she was remembering all the times she had to explain to a dumbstruck Regulus about the concept of movies. Tilting her head to the side with a mischievous smile, she said, "Care to escort a lady to dinner?"

Regulus winked and offered her his hand. "Certainly."

They took one of Sirius' expensive cars to the restaurant. Regulus actually preferred to just Apparate there, but as a Muggle, Irina always found Apparition to be uncomfortable. Besides, it would be suspicious for them if they suddenly just appeared out of nowhere. The younger Black was grateful that back when he was still living as a Muggle, he took up driving lessons, although he didn't own a car. He even took the driving license test and passed it. His license had expired since he had gone back to live in the wizarding world, but with a simple Glamour Charm, he had it taken care of. For someone who rarely ventured out of the wizarding world, Sirius owned quite a lot of cars. However, even though the man knew how to take care of his cars, the older Black didn't know much about the trend evolution of cars and the brands. The guy merely bought ones that were claimed to be the best and the most expensive car at the time of its purchase. That was why Sirius' indifferent shrug when Regulus gaped over the newly purchased Aston Martin DB7 was more scandalous to the younger Black than the fact that his brother owned one of the most expensive cars in the world. Regulus felt like kissing his brother's feet when Sirius offered him to take the car.

When they arrived at the restaurant, almost everyone stared at the car they were riding. Regulus couldn't help the smirk that made an appearance on his face as he entered the restaurant with Irina. Not because he was proud of his brother's expensive car, but because he knew everyone was stunned by his beautiful wife. The former nurse looked absolutely astonishing as she admired everything about the restaurant, the glint of excitement in her blue eyes made Regulus smiled. He caught the look on his wife's face when they looked at the menu, knowing exactly what she was thinking. Even though he'd been living with his brother for three years, it still took him sometime to adjust his eyes when he saw ridiculously expensive things. The prices were still high after he changed the currency into Galleons. But he shrugged the thought aside as he remembered that he was now Head of the Sacreds, second-born to one of the richest Pureblood families in all of Europe. Once he ordered his and Irina's food, also ordered their famous wine, Regulus reached out to hold Irina's hand, smiling fondly as the woman squeezed his hand gently.

"This is wonderful," Irina said. "Thank you very much, love."

"Anything for you," Regulus replied.

"So, what's the occasion? I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but why did you suddenly decide to take me here now?"

It took Regulus awhile to answer. "Seeing my brother and his wife coming back from their honeymoon last week made me realised that I'd never took you anywhere after our wedding. I'd have preferred us to go on a honeymoon too, but with the war coming and all…"

"This is more than enough," the brunette said quickly when Regulus trailed off. " _You_ are more than enough, Regulus."

"I love you," Regulus said, giving a peck on her cheek.

The woman smiled, even as she had a slight blush on her face. "Come on, let's talk about something in a much happier tone… Tell me about your childhood. In all the years I know you, and now your brother and his family, I only know so much about your past. I want you to tell me everything, Reg. I want to know what kind of shenanigans you and your brother got into."

Her request made him laughed. "Well, not much, really. When you have parents like mine, there's not much you can do. Up until the year I went to Hogwarts and got into Slytherin, Sirius was pretty much my only friend. He was the one who taught me how to fly, you know? He got into the Quidditch team as a Beater in his second year, with Neville's father, Frank Longbottom. Our mother wouldn't allow it but we always snuck out in the middle of the night to fly. It was amazing."

"And you were a Seeker? Like Harry and Draco?"

"True. Harry's so much better than me though. That kid is a natural. If he didn't grow up to be a professional Quidditch player, I'd be shocked… And Draco's actually a Chaser. A really good one, if you ask me. I've seen him as a Chaser. The fact that he's left-handed is the reason why he's a brilliant Chaser. Maybe next year he can try out as a Chaser, what with the previous one being expelled. Sad that there's no Quidditch this year."

"Oh right. Because of the uh…the Triwizard Tournament, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I have high hopes that Harry would win. With us helping him, and his friends too, I have no doubt that the kid will win." Taking a sip of his wine, it was Regulus' turn to ask questions. "What about you? How was your childhood?"

Irina shrugged. "Nowhere as interesting as yours, that's for sure. You know I'm an only child. And I told you I didn't really have friends growing up. Oh wait… Actually, I do have one. I went to secondary school with her. Her mother's a very popular actress, the one from that 1939 romance movie that won a lot of Oscars. She herself is an actress too, although nowhere the caliber of her mother. But she's very nice."

"Oh? Why are you no longer friends with her?"

Irina shrugged. "She moved out and I lost contact with her. The next time I saw her it was on the big screen. But other than her, I didn't have close friends. Nothing like Sirius and Remus have. Although I wish I had."

Regulus nodded his head. "Yeah, everyones wishes they have the kind of friendship like my brother and his friends. Even myself."

"It is rare… But do you really have no friends at all? Just acquaintances?"

 _("Once I'm out of this hellhole, I'll join the Dark Lord. I'll show my father just how_ wrong _he is. Just like you'll show your brother how stupid he is for deserting his family.")_

"Just one," Regulus said in a small voice. For the first time in a long time since he married Irina, he felt the Dark Mark on his inner left forearm began to itch.

"Really?" Irina said in surprise, thoroughly oblivious to the fact that Regulus tensely shifted in his seat. "Why didn't you tell me? What's his name? Is he…you know, still alive?"

"His name is Barty Crouch junior, and he's been dead for over a decade."

"Barty Crouch junior? You mean he's – "

"Yeah, he was Marlene's Deputy's son. He was in my year, in Slytherin too. He was my only friend."

"Oh wow… Why did you never tell me about him?"

At this point, Regulus couldn't help but to clench his jaw. "Barty was the reason I became a Death Eater. You see, his father was a great Minister, but an absolute arse when it came to parenting. To say that Barty junior hated his father would be an understatement of the century. He absolute despised his father. As a result, he went to look for other father figures to fill the hole. Unfortunately, his decision fell on Voldemort. Pretty much like how looked up to the psychotic bastard because I lost my brother. When were fourteen, we decided that we should be Death Eaters together. It was around the time Sirius left me, so in my… _rage_ of being left behind with my horrible parents, I agreed. We were sixteen when took the Mark. After sometime though, I realised the errors of my believed. I tried telling Barty about it, but after a year, he'd changed. He was no longer the best friend I knew."

"Oh, God," Irina whispered, looking horrified.

"It was around the same time I found out about Voldemort being a half-blood, and that all of his propaganda was a big, hypocritical campaign. I decided that I should get out. Even though I knew chances of me surviving was small, I was sort of hoping that once I succeed in destorying one Horcrux, I'd be able to expose Voldemort, and by doing that, I'd get my friend back. It didn't happen that way though."

"No, it did not," Irina agreed in a small voice. "You met _me_ instead."

"I don't regret it though," Regulus said quickly. "I've always known that Barty's a bit messed up in the head, thanks to his father's horrible parenting. So, if I had to choose between your or Barty, I'd always choose you. I know this paints a bad light on me, but I can't help it. You're my world, Irina."

"There you go again with your romantic words, Romeo," Irina laughed, squealing a bit when Regulus stole a kiss from her. " _Regulus!_ We're in a public place."

"I don't a give a damn," the young Black replied, grinning. He was tempted to steal another kiss when the waiter came with their food, and he was forced to sit back in his chair. They waited until the waiter had left before they dug in.

"What was he like?" Irina asked as she took a bite of her Scottish beef.

"Who?" Regulus asked, a little distracted because he was busy cutting his salmon.

"Your friend Barty. What was he like?"

"He was… Well, except for his obsession with Voldemort, he was quite normal. He was very talkative, especially when he was arguing with me about anything Potions-related. It was his favourite subject. He was very good at Potions. The only one who was nearly as good as I was, actually. He smiled a lot, and if I hadn't known him, I wouldn't have guessed he had it rough at home. His smile was _so_ carefree, you know?"

"A lot of people with domineering parents were like that."

"No wonder… He was very normal, like any other kid. Rarely got angry too, except when he received anything from his father. And oh, if I were surrounded by my fellow Quidditch mates. He didn't like Quidditch, you see. He would always scowl at the way people approached me after a game, especially if there were girls. He found girls especially annoying. Wouldn't talk to me for three days when he was in a mood."

"Huh… It's almost like he's jealous of the girls or something."

Regulus almost choked on his drink upon hearing his wife's comment.

 _"_ I'm sorry. _I beg you pardon?"_ Regulus coughed out, eyes watering a bit.

Irina shrugged, although there was a contemplating look in her eyes. "You know what I mean, Reg. You _do._ I mean, he acted like a jealous _girlfriend_. You must be either blind or ignorant for you not to notice that."

The Head of the Sacred fell silent. The truth was, he really didn't notice anything wrong with Barty's dramatics. He was so used to his own brother's threatrics, that he didn't think much about anything his best friend did. Not to mention, Barty was a hateful person. He found the most trivial things to be grating on his nerves on a daily basis. Anything that wasn't Voldemort-related or Potions-related was considered to be a total waste. But even as Regulus dug deep into his mind, going through old memories that he'd tried so hard to forget, he had to admit that Irina was right. Back when Regulus was still in Hogwarts, although he'd only dated a couple of girls, one of them being Pansy Parkison's older sister, who was the oldest of five and two years Regulus' junior, the younger Black did have quite a few female admirers. It was nowhere the number of Sirius' admirers, but there were enough to probably set Irina into a jealous rage if she ever found out about it. Regulus remembered that all those times he dated those girls, Primrose Parkison as an example, Barty would act coolly the whole Regulus was in a relationship. Barty would also throw mean insults at the girls Regulus dated. He'd even prank them to the point to almost hurting the girls. Back then, Regulus always thought Barty was extra cranky because of something his father did.

He never thought it was because the guy had _feelings_ for him.

His own very Pureblooded, extremely antiquated best friend…

"Oh, Salazar," Regulus groaned out, face in his hands. "I felt really bad about it now. I mean, he used to prank the girls I dated, some of those pranks he did even put the girls into the infirmary. And I did absolutely _nothing._ "

"Wow, you really didn't know," Irina said, looking amused.

"He could have _killed_ them with his pranks, and I merely reprimanded him as if all he did was break a cauldron. Gods, I feel terrible."

"It's not your fault, Reg. You really didn't realise. And hey, nobody's killed, right?"

"Still though – "

"Love, don't worry about it. Like I said before, it's not your fault. Besides, as terrible as it is for me to say this, but the guy's dead. He can do no more harm."

Regulus looked at Irina, feeling grateful for the umpteenth time since he met her for her presence in his life. Ignoring the woman's protests, he planted a deep kiss on her mouth before speaking again. "I love you. I love you so much, Irina Black. I can't imagine my life without you."

"Well, I'm right here with you, and I'm not going anywhere unless you want me to."

"Like hell, I would."

"That settles it then. You're stuck with me till the end of time, buddy."

"I can totally live with that," Regulus said.

"Yeah, me too." Then, like a switch, the woman let out a small laugh. "I can only imagine the lengths he'd do to me if he was still alive. I mean, I'm your _wife._ He'd probably kill me."

As Irina laughed again, Regulus forced himself to laugh with her. But he really couldn't.

Because he knew how Barty wouldn't only kill Irina if he were still alive, he'd make Irina's death as painful as anyone could possibly imagine.


	39. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 8

**NOTES:** Hello! To be honest, I'm not supposed to update till Friday. But I have sooo many exams coming up, I thought I better update now, just in case I wouldn't be able to update later. I'm so glad you guys liked the previous chapter. It meant a lot. By the way, to Anne who left a review on the previous chapter, I'm going to answer your question here, okay? Honestly, I've never answered guests' reviews before; I prefer to answer you guys privately. But because you wrote some really interesting questions, I guess I'm gonna have to make an exception. For those of you who don't feel like reading my answer to Anne, feel free to skip it and go ahead read the story. I hope you guys like it! ;)

 _1\. Which character is your favourite so far? _ My favourite character? You mean the ones I've written about? Well, I can't choose one, to be honest. But if I have to, I guess it's between Sirius or Regulus. I love the Black brothers soooo much :D  
 _2\. Which one is the hardest for you to write?_ Hmm... All the female characters, I think. Weird, right? I mean, considering that I'm a girl lol. I don't know why, but it always took me ages to write the female characters. I guess because I'm a girl myself I want all of the female characters I write to be PERFECT, and whenever I write them, I feel them to be too...fake? Lol anyway, they're all difficult to write.  
 _3\. How many chapters do you plan to have?_ Well, I plan to write 10 chapters for each year. So that means there'll be 70 chapters. Then, for the epilogue, I plan on splitting it into 30 chapters. Very ambitious, I know :P But I've actually finished all the plannings on my notebook. I just need to...type them on MS Word and make it into a proper chapter :) I promise I won't leave you guys without an update for too long though. So, I hope you guys still have the patience to stick me through this journey, okay ;)  
 _4\. How did you write all the chapters?_ How did I write my chapters? I'm sorry, I don't really understand your question. But I'll try to answer it anyway :P Well, from what I understand from your question (I'm sorry if I get it wrong), I wrote the chapter whenever I felt the characters talked to me. Which is actually a HORRIBLE mistake because they ALWAYS talk simultaneously in my head. Sirius and Draco are the ones who always bother me, especially when I'm in class and supposedly have to pay attention. So yeah, that's how I wrote my chapters :)  
 _5\. Is there going to be a sequel?_ After the 100 chapters that I planned? Nah, I don't think so. I mean, I've written 38 chapters so far, and I've NEVER written a story this long before. So, nope. After the 30th chapter of the Epilogue, that's it. I'm sorry!  
 _6\. Will you write a spin-off of sort on Regulus' life with Irina pre-Astrid?_ Again, I don't think so.  
 _7\. Where do you get all your inspirations?_ Inspirations on what? The story, characterisation or my writing style? Fine, I'm gonna answer all three. For the story, well because it's a fanfiction, I guess I get it all from Rowling ehehehe :P But some of the AUs though, I based it on my own experiences. Same goes for the characterisations. Unfortunately, Rowling never really elaborates about Regulus (as an example). So, to write him, I kinda based him on a few people I know. Like my best friend, my cousin, etc. And my writing style? I think it's a combination from all the authors I've read about. Unconsciously, I've kinda picked up writing styles here and there from various authors lol ;P  
 _8\. Do you prefer to write as a boy or girl?_ Boy. All the time. Girls are difficult to write, like I said before. I think it's because I don't have that many girl friends. And I can't just based all the female characters on myself. So yeah. I prefer to write about male characters.  
 _9\. Are you going to 'kill' Sirius co.? (Please don't!)_ 'Sirius and co.' as in Sirius and all the characters Rowling brutally murdered? Lol :P Well, I can't really answer that with a straight no. But all I can say is, I'm not going to kill any of the Godparents. The canon plot for the Harry Potter series is VERY DARK, and I always think it's really cruel for Rowling to kill off everyone Harry cares about (thank goodness she didn't kill of Hagrid and McGonagall). It's part of the reason why I wrote this story. I want Harry to have the childhood he deserves even without his parents, and with the war going on.  
 _10\. Is the story going have a happy-ending?_ OF COURSE :)

Okay, that's all my answers, Anne. I hope you're satisfied with them. And thank you for the rest of you who read my answers to Anne's questions. Now, before you go on reading this chapter, can you point out what movie reference was in the previous chapter, and from what movie? Also, can anyone guess who was the actress who supposedly had become Irina's childhood friend? Anyway, I won't keep from reading any longer. On you go with the story. And I promise I'll update around the 22nd. Till next chapter! :D

* * *

Bill Weasley loved his family. No one could ever doubt that.

He loved his parents a great deal, that was for sure. In their limited financial situation, his parents always tried their hardest to give him the best that they could. Then when his brother Charlie was born, and he learned just how amazing it was to be a brother, Bill extended his love to little Charlie, who always followed him around until he felt like he was too old to do so. As the first of his six siblings, Charlie would always be special to Bill. In a way, Charlie was Bill's first best friend just like Bill was Charlie's. But that didn't mean Bill didn't love the rest of his siblings. Percy was the only one in his family who understood the need to be the _best_ in everything, also the only one who had the patience to deal with their father's love toward everything Muggle-related. The twins were the ones who understood his humorous and joking nature, the side that no one but the twins and Charlie ever saw. Ron and Ginny were his baby brother and sister, and because of the age difference between them, he felt like both a brother and a parent to the both of them.

Bill Weasley loved his family. And the all loved him in return.

Each one of his family members had a piece of his heart, just like he had a piece of theirs.

But the moment he laid his eyes on _her,_ he knew someone else had claimed another piece.

His whole family was visiting Harry with the Black-Lupin family as well, to give support to the young boy. Bill liked Harry. He always did. He liked how the boy treated Ron, Malfoy, and Neville equally. It showed just how well as person he was raised. That was why when his father told him that they were invited to join Sirius Black and his family to visit Harry, Bill and Charlie, as the only ones left who were at the Burrow, agreed to come. Besides, by visiting Harry, they could also visit the rest of the Weasley kids. The only one who couldn't come was Percy, who was busy dealing with Crouch's absence, since he was his personal assistant. So the four Weasleys plus Tonks went by Floo, arriving in Dumbledore's own fireplace from the Black Manor's fireplace during lunch. Harry looked pleasantly surprised to see his family, and immediately summoned the Weasley kids as well to meet their family. Bill listened to Ron's story about the Second Task, grinning when he heard his mother reprimanding the twins about another of the letters McGonagall sent home regarding their behaviour. On the other side of the room, he saw his sister and Harry himself cheered at the dance the cousins Payne and Astrid Black showed them. Other than his family, there were other families of the other Champions coming to visit. He knew Cedric Diggorys' parents, since they were essentially neighbours. The couple who were in their mid-fifties could only be Viktor Krum's parents, judging from their similar facial structure. The last ones to come were an attractive couple who still had their good-looks despite their age. Bill didn't know the name of the last Champion, but he guessed that could only be her parents. The curse-breaker was about respond to his brother's story about Harry's hero-complex, when he felt wind was knocked out of his breath.

The Weasley men were all known to be very tall and rather lanky. Bill happened to be the tallest between him and his six brothers, although he suspected Ron could very well end up being taller than him. But that girl, whose silvery-blonde hair fell in perfect waves behind her back, and the colour so bright it was like her hair was emitting light, was almost as tall as Percy, who was the shortest Weasley child. Even from where he was standing, Bill could see that her eyes were dark-blue, like the colour of the sky after the first ray of sun. When she turned to hug her mother, the girl's dark-blue eyes found his own light-blue ones. Bill knew he should feel embarrassed that he was caught staring at her. But he noticed the way she looked at him, the way her blue eyes went up and down appreciatively as if she was assessing him. It was obvious that unlike his Mum, the girl liked how he had his hair in a pony-tail, and the dragon-fang Charlie sent him that he had dangling by his ear. The moment those eyes were back to look right back into his, she had a small smile on her face. A part of him realised that the girl was a lot younger than him at least by six years, and he knew he shouldn't have responded to her. But the other part of him, the part that was just as suave as Charlie and as mischievous as the twins, told him to ignore that saint-like part in him. Before he realised what he'd done, Bill had returned the girl's smile and gave her a wink.

"Bloody hell," Ron half-yelled, snapping Bill's attention back to him. "I can't believe it."

"Believe what?" Bill asked, although he knew what his brother meant.

"You're _flirting_ with Fleur Delacour!" the younger boy exclaimed, attracting a lot of attention. Fortunately for Bill, the girl and the family had left so they didn't hear Ron's tactless proclamation.

His family though? Oh, they heard it _just fine._

"Flirting?" his mother said, taking her attention of the twins and turned to Bill and Ron. "Who's flirting with who?"

"Bill's flirting with Fleu – _hmph!_ "

"He's talking nonsense," Bill quickly said, giving his mother a sweet smile as he put a hand over Ron's big mouth.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for his siblings to put two and two together.

"Aw, big brother William has a crush on _la belle_ Miss Fleur Delacour," George teased, making kissy faces at him. "She's part-Veela, you know. Make sure it's not one-sided, brother."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem, judging from the way she's eyeing him as well," Ginny quipped, watching Fleur and her family walked away.

"Watch it, Charlie. He's going to steal the thunder from you and Tonks," Fred said, mock-serious.

"I'm more concerned over the age gap actually," Charlie replied, giving Bill an infuriating smirk that made him wanted to punch the git. "I mean, isn't she like, _five_ years younger than you, brother?"

"Quit it, all of you!" their mother snapped before Bill could decide which one of his siblings he should smack first. "Stop teasing your brother like that."

"Yeah, don't embarrass our big brother," Ron said, surprising everyone. Their mother was obviously taken aback that her youngest son sided with her. Bill though, he knew better.

"Why, thank you, Ron – "

"Besides, it's more like _seven_ years," Ron said, sticking his tongue out at Bill.

"That's it, I'm going to kill all of you," Bill said. He made a show as if he was going to jump on one of his siblings, which prompted all of them to run away. Charlie took Tonks' hand and fled in the direction of the Quidditch pitch, the twins went up the Grand Staircase, while Ron and Ginny went back inside the Great Hall. Letting out a chuckle, Bill watched all of his siblings scattered around, and for a split second he felt like they were kids again.

"Even my most mature child is immature," Molly Weasley said, letting out a dramatic sigh even as she grinned. It made everyone laughed.

"Thanks a lot, Mum," the curse-breaker said dryly, but giving his mother a smile to show that he wasn't really offended.

"It's quite all right, Molly," the newly married Marlene Black replied. "At least you don't have an overgrown child as a husband. And a brother-in-law. And a best friend."

" _Hey!"_ Sirius, Regulus and Remus chorused, which earned another round of laughter.

When Harry offered to take the adults on a tour around the castle, for old time's sake, Bill decided that he'd go to the Black Lake. Excusing himself to everyone else, he then made his way. Back when he was still at Hogwarts, the Black Lake was one of his favourite place. He liked to lounge under the tree by the Lake as he read the books he borrowed from the library or bought from the secondhand bookshop in Diagon Alley. He was thankful to find that there was no other students there under tree, seeing that lunch break was over already. With a smile one his face, Bill settled himself on his favourite spot, feeling very much like he'd gone back in time and was a teenager again. He had his first kiss there, under the tree, when he was fourteen. It was with a fifth year Ravenclaw with whom he had a crush on her. The girl's name was Olivia Cates. Bill intentionally failed three of his Potions tests just so he could ask her to tutor him. They'd been studying together for two months when one day, Bill decided to kiss her. But before he'd gathered all his nerves, the older girl suddenly cupped his face in her hands, and planted her lips on his. That marked the beginning of his popularity among the girls' population. He wasn't exactly a playboy like Charlie was, but, without meaning it to sound conceited, there _was_ a long line of girls tailing after him.

" _Excusez-moi, monsieur. Ça ne vous –_ I'm sorry, I mean… D-do you mind if I join you? Us Beauxbatons students don't have anything to do after lunch. Classes end early for us on _les Vendredis_. And I like to sit here to uh…pass the time."

Bill's head had never whipped around so fast, he ended up getting a whiplash. Massaging his neck gently, he tried to stop the blush from coming as he nodded the to pretty blonde. " _Oui. Bien sur."_

When Fleur Delacour beamed at him, it took Bill quite sometimes to focus his mind. He wondered silently whether his attraction to the girl was so strong because of her Veela heritage.

" _Est-ce que tu parles Français?_ " Fleur said eagerly.

"Ah, no," Bill said, shaking his head with an apologetic smile. "My French goes only goes as far simple greetings."

" _Je vois_ ," the girl said. Shrugging, she continued, speaking in her thick accent. "No matter. My English is quite…decent. And I could use some practise."

"That's good to hear. I'd hate to think we'd be sitting here in silence." When the girl threw her head back as she laughed, Bill decided that her Veela heritage had nothing to do with the fact that he was staring at her like an idiot.

"I haven't introduced myself, haven't I? _Mon nom est Fleur Delacour._ What about you? _Comment tu t'appelles?"_ She gave our her hand to him, and didn't even wait for Bill to take her hand, grabbing his extended hand and shook it firmly.

"I'm Bill Weasley."

"Brother to Ron, yes?"

"True. As you've probably noticed already, I have six siblings. Five younger brothers and one younger sister. I'm the oldest."

"I only have Gabrielle, _ma petite soeur._ I love her so much. Even though sometimes she makes me…crazy. But that's what younger siblings do, _je suppose._ "

"Oh, I totally agree. You only have _one_ sibling. I have _six!_ They're all so infuriating. But I wouldn't trade them for the world."

They spent the next two hours talking about a lot of things other than their respective siblings. She told him that she just turned eighteen the previous month, and was planning to find a job in England. Bill liked how the girl was so much more than just a pretty face. Obviously she could only be one of the most brilliant student, seeing she was her school's representative. They talked about their favourite school subjects, and he was quite surprised to find that her favourite subject was Charms, just like him. The whole time they talked, Bill didn't realise that there was a seven-year gap between the two of them. He liked talking to her, her maturity caught him off guard, and yet she was still so naïve about the world. It was refreshing for him to hear her talk. He didn't even realise how much time flew, not until she told him that she had to go see her Headmistress to talk about the Third Task. Albeit feeling a little disappointed that their chat had to end so soon, Bill nodded his head understandingly.

"Good luck for your last Task, okay?" Bill said before she left.

" _Bien sur._ _Merci beaucoup,_ " Fleur said in return, her smile lit up her face. She'd only walked a few paces away when she turned around and called his name. "Uh… Bill?"

"Yes, Fleur?" the curse-breaker replied, feeling himself smiling as well.

"I like talking to you. _A lot._ "

"Well um, me too, Fleur."

"Great. I'll give Harry my address. _Au revoir,_ Bill Weasley."

As Bill bade the girl farewell, he couldn't help the frown that began to form on his face. Why would Fleur give Harry his address if she liked talking to –

"William, you are an _idiot,_ " Bill muttered to himself before making a mad dash back into the castle, all the while hoping he could catch Harry before he finished with the tour he gave to his family.

He needed to make sure Harry remembered to give him the address once Fleur gave it to him.

* * *

 _("Please tell me you've forgiven me.")_

 _("No, I haven't. I'm just going to give you this.")_

 _("What is – ")_

 _("This medalion will protect you from any harm that's caused by magic. Even the Killing Curse.")_

This was it. The Final Task. Cedric was one step closer to _eternal glory._ As he stood beside Harry, everything felt like a blur to him. He barely noticed his father standing on his other side, and he couldn't even fathom what the man was saying. On his right he saw Harry with Regulus Black, who had come in his brother's and Remus Lupin's place to offer Harry support. Unlike the other two Headmasters, Dumbledore opted not to walk his Champions, to avoid suspicions on favouritism. Instead, he'd asked the father, and in Harry's case Godfather, of the Hogwarts Champions instead. Like everyone else who saw Regulus instead of Harry's Godfathers, Cedric wondered where the two Aurors were. He would have asked the Gryffindor about it, if it weren't for the fact that something else was on his mind. When the canon blew, signaling the start of the Final Task, Cedric bade his father farewell and made his way into the Maze. Before the entrance closed behind him, his eyes caught the sight of a familiar blonde sitting tensely between Ginny Weasley and Astoria Greengrass.

Cedric immediately focused his mind though, knowing that the slightest miss would cost him greatly. He used Point Me to show him the way, thinking that the Cup could only be right in the middle of the Maze. The first obstacle he ran into was an Acromantula. He barely had enough time to dug when the Acromantula shot its web at him. Rolling to the side, he almost got stabbed by another Acromatula's pointy legs. He thought it was by pure luck that he was quick enough to pull out his wand, and yelled " _Arania Exumai!"_ at the two creatures. The ground shuddered under his feet as the Acromatulas dropped to the ground. Careful not to wake them up, he hastily continued on his way. For the next fifteen minutes, according to his watch, Cedric's path was empty. But he didn't let his guard down though, especially when he saw a flare went into the sky from the direction where he was going. He estimated he was only fifty metres away from the next obstacle, and was right when suddenly, strong wind began to blow until it formed huge mini-tornados.

The Head Boy only had a split second to decide which path he should take, lest he'd be sucked into the vortex that was going after him. Running as fast as he could, he wasn't really watching where he was going. He vaguely heard voices, but shrugged it aside, thinking it was just the tornado behind him. It felt like hours until he was finally free of the tornado after he took a turn to the right. He was breathing hard, as if something was clogging up his windpipe, as he watched the destruction the tornado left in its wake. Cedric took a few minutes to calm down his breathing before he waved his wand to determine where he was. Lifting himself onto his feet, he ignored the way his legs were screaming in exhaustion. He began to walk again, albeit a lot slower than before. He was a lot more wary though, knowing that anything could come out from literally anywhere. His adrenaline was still running high, and his ears were ringing as a result. It was about ten minutes later when he felt a shift in the air. It felt dark, _sinister,_ almost as if someone just cast the Dark Mark. The sudden change caught him off guard, he didn't realise there was someone behind him.

" _Crucio!"_

The Cruciatus Curse hit him right on his back, and Cedric expected the unbearable pain he'd heard many times in the past. But he felt nothing. Turning around, he found Krum standing in front of him, wand aimed at him. There was something off about the Quidditch star though. His eyes looked unfocused, and he moved almost robotically. It didn't take him long to realise that the Bulgarian was under the influence of the Imperiatus Curse. When Krum sent another curse at him and it didn't affect Cedric at all, the Head Boy realised that he was protected because of Luna's medalion that was hidden under his shirt. All of the sudden, he felt the weight of the trinket hanging around his neck, the cool-surface of the onyx stone felt oddly soothing against his chest. In the back of his mind, Cedric wondered whether the blonde had seen it in one of her visions about him being attacked by Krum. But the thought instantly flew out of his mind when Krum sent an unfamiliar purple hex at him, and even though he knew he would be save, Cedric still gave a flinch when the Curse hit him. It seemed that Krum finally realised that magic couldn't hurt Cedric. Instead, he pocketed his wand and began to make a beeline toward Cedric. Knowing that Krum could very well kill him, the Hufflepuff took off as fast as he could, despite his protesting legs.

"Krum! Hey, Krum!" Cedric yelled as he kept on running. "Snap out of it! I know you can hear me, you cocky bastard!"

"He's not here, Diggory," Krum replied coolly, his voice sounded heavier than usual. "He's safely locked in his own mind until I let him go. For now, it's just you and me, and I'm going to _hurt_ you."

"Whoever you are, you're obviously doing a terrible job, mate," Cedric laughed mirthlessly. "I'm _still_ standing, aren't I? You're a _joke_ , ma – "

"Cedric?" a voice yelled. "Is that you?"

It was obvious that Cedric wasn't the only one who recognised the voice.

" _Potter,"_ Krum grumbled.

They'd taken another turn and there it was; the Triwizard Cup in all its glory, glowing in ethereal blue light. However, standing right in front of him, his wand at the ready, was Harry. The younger boy didn't look scared one bit as his eyes narrowed at both Cedric and Krum, who was coming in closer. The Gryffindor looked like he was making a quick a decision in his head when his hand suddenly jerked and the Stunning spell shot out of his wand. Cedric only had a split second before he ducked, ended up rolling on the ground because of the sudden halt. Looking back over his shoulder, he let out a sigh when he saw Krum unconscious on the ground. He felt Harry knelt beside him, giving out his hand to Cedric to pull him up.

"You…you could have just let him…attacked me," Cedric panted, once again out of breath. "Thank you for helping me."

"Don't mention it," Harry replied, giving a small smiled. "Besides, I've been told many times that I have a hero-complex."

Cedric laughed. But he immediately sobered up as he looked at the Cup. "And here we are. Hogwarts' Champions, just a foot away from the Cup."

"Here were are," Harry echoed, eyeing the Cup as well.

There was almost a minute of silence before Cedric spoke, surprising even himself with his own words when he said, "You should take the Cup, Harry. After all, you got here first."

The Gryffindor shook his head, his eyes widened. " _What?_ No, no, no. _You_ are the true Champion. You should be the one who wins."

"But you got here first. It's only fair if you win."

"Fine. What about we win this stupid Tournament _together_? It'll still be a Hogwarts victory."

"I like that," Cedric replied, smiling. "Okay then. On three. One…"

"Two…"

 _"Diggory!"_

"Three!"

Cedric saw a flash of silver coming in his way, flying out from Krum's hand, who was _awake_ already. Thinking that it was another spell, he didn't even think of dodging out of the way. He merely stood there, his right hand reached out to touch the Cup. Suddenly, he felt a shot of pain on his right side. At the same time, the moment his hand touched the cup, he felt the familiar sensation of travelling with a Portkey. The last thing he saw before the Cup took him away was Krum _finally_ came back into his own body, his dark eyes were wide in terror as he watched both Cedric and Harry disappeared. When he finally landed, he was lucky enough that his feet landed firmly on the ground, which was a great feat considering that his whole body was screaming in pain, especially his right side. Cedric merely made a quick check on his surrounding, noting that they were in a graveyard and that Harry seemed to be fine except a bit shaken, before he looked down and checked on himself.

There was a knife sticking out from under his ribs.

And he was _bleeding._ Cedric was bleeding profusely. It seemed that whoever it was that had Imperiused Krum decided to use a knife on Cedric to hurt him. Even though it was dark, Cedric knew that his shirt was soaked already with his own blood in a short amount of time. He had no idea how long his legs could hold him up. He considered telling Harry, but he knew the boy had a lot in his mind already, judging from the way he was looking around in alarm. They weren't supposed to be transported out of the Maze. He didn't even know that the Cup was a Portkey. Even if it was, he reckoned it was to transport them back to the Quidditch pitch, where everyone else would be waiting for them. But Cedric knew that there was no use in 'what ifs'. It happened, so he just had to deal with it. He realised he probably should help the younger boy to find a way back to Hogwarts. Perhaps they could Apparate. Cedric had passed his Apparition test already. But when he felt himself falling to his knees, he knew he was much too weak to do such advance magic. Maybe a little rest wouldn't be too bad. He just needed some shut-eye and then he –

"Cedric, wake up," Harry said, shaking him urgently. The boy then stopped, and when Cedric opened his eyes weakly, he noticed that the Gryffindor was eyeing Cedric's hand that was holding his wounded side. "Gods, you're _bleeding._ "

 _Yeah, no shit, Sherlock,_ the Hufflepuff remarked dryly in his mind, remembering the Muggle book his mother bought him for his fifteenth birthday.

"I'm fine," Cedric gritted out as he pulled the knife out, letting out a string of curses when the pain nearly made him fainted. He took a few deep breaths and once he felt strong enough, he tried to stand up. He was thankful when Harry quickly helped him up because the truth was, Cedric felt like fainting already.

"Come on, we have to get out of here. I have a bad feeling about this. Hold on to me, okay? I'll Apparate us out."

Harry frowned. "You sure you can do it? I mean, you're _drenched_ in blood, mate."

"Yeah, it's all right. Really. Let's just go now."

Harry looked unconvinced but he probably realised that they really needed to leave. Holding tightly onto Cedric, the younger boy took a deep breath to ready himself. Cedric was picturing his destination when suddenly, Harry dropped on his knees and began to scream, holding his head in pain. The sudden movement caused Cedric to fall as well, unfortunately landing on his bad side. He felt the wind knocked out of his lungs and for a moment, everything went dark as his body erupted in pain. He quickly pushed it away though, because beside him, Harry was still screaming. Letting out a shuddering breath, the Hufflepuff began to drag himself toward Harry, the two inches they had between them felt like miles away. That was when he saw a figure coming out of the other of the graveyard. The closer the person got, the louder Harry screamed. But Cedric could tell who it was.

Peter Pettigrew.

"What are you doing to Harry?" Cedric bravely rasped out as he struggled tog et on his feet, wand clutched tightly in his slippery, bloody hands. He couldn't afford dropping it by accident.

"Go away, boy," Pettigrew said. As he got closer, Cedric saw that the psycho was holding a bundle in his hand. "We only need the little brat. It's been sometime since wee little Harry last talked to his Uncle Wormtail."

"Y-you bastard," Harry spat out through his pain. "You betrayed my parents."

"Oh, cry me a river, kid," Pettigrew said as he stepped forward.

"Stand back!" Cedric said, his wand trained at Pettigrew, not backing down.

The insane creep let out a manic chuckle. "You think you can defeat me, boy? The first person who ever got out of Azkaban? Don't be delusional, Diggory. You're hurt. Save yourself. _Go_."

"Over my dead body."

Pettigrew shrugged. "Oh well. That can be arranged."

The short wizard took a side glance at the bundle in his arm. Cedric felt a chill running up his spine when heard a voice hissed from under all of those blankets. It was like hearing the devil himself spoke. Even from the voice alone he could that whatever was in the bundle was nasty.

"Kill the spare," the bundle hissed out. Pettigrew smirked.

"Certainly, My Lord."

 _"Avada Kedavra!"_

Green light filled his vision as he felt a strong force threw him a few metres back. He landed roughly on his back, and the force caused him to cough out blood. He had no idea how long he blacked out. He only knew so because for the longest time, he saw darkness. But he knew he was still alive because every breath he took was like another stab in his lungs, and that his ears were ringing. Using whatever energy left, he rolled around onto his knees. There was no voice that came out of his mouth as he heaved out, clutching his bleeding side. From the corner of his eye, Cedric saw one of the statues came back to life and was holding Harry captive, who was still screaming. Pettigrew was dropping the bundle into a huge cauldron in front of Harry, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Cedric had no died yet. There was a mini-explosion coming from the cauldron as it slowly transformed. He watched it with wide eyes when the cauldron began to form a head, a body, and two set of limbs. Even before the transformation was completed, Cedric knew who it was already.

"Wormtail," a hiss came from the figure, sounding snake-like. "Why is the spare still alive?"

And when Cedric looked into Lord Voldemort's red eyes, he felt like seeing into the eyes of the Devil himself.


	40. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 9

**NOTES:** As promised ;)

* * *

Harry's head was killing him. The pain he felt was unbearable. It felt like someone was tearing his forehead opened with a blade. It took all his might to focus on anything but the pain because at the moment, he had just witnessed the rebirth of Lord Voldemort – _the man who murdered his parents._ The man who was standing before him looked like nothing like the Tom Riddle from the diary. This man's face looked snake-like, and those piercing blue-eyes that he used to have were now red. Harry thought Voldemort would kill him right then and there when the transformation was completed. But the wizard's attention was all set on Cedric, who was struggling to get onto his feet. The Hufflepuff's complexion had paled drastically in the two minutes since he confronted Pettigrew, and Harry worried about the rate the blood was pouring down his stab wound. But, in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but to wonder _how_ in the world Cedric survived the Killing Curse.

And it seemed, Harry wasn't the only one who wondered about it.

"Wormtail, why is the spare still alive?"

"My Lord – "

"Well, sorry to rain on your parade, mate, but you've got one _lousy_ lackey," Cedric spat, blood rolling down his chin as he let out a mirthless chuckle.

Voldemort hummed as he approached Cedric, his robes billowing behind him. When he kicked Cedric onto his back, Harry flinched at the sound of his foot contacting with Cedric's nose. "But you can get hurt. You _are_ hurt. You're bleeding to death as we speak."

"Aren't you just observ – "

Harry clenched his jaw at the sound Cedric let out when Voldemort stepped on his wound. Wandlessly Summoning the knife Cedric plucked out of his body, Voldemort then bowed down until his face was leveled with Cedric's writhing one. "Such a handsome boy… I used to look like you, you know? And even without my powers, people _worshipped_ me just for the fact that I looked like alll the charming princes in their stupid fairytales. I bet you have a lot of girls tailing after you, don't you? I wonder whether they'll still like you if I do _this._ "

Voldemort flicked his hand, and Harry thought he'd stabbed Cedric when the Head Boy let out another blood-curdling scream. Before he knew what he was doing, Harry yelled, "Don't touch him!"

" _Harry!"_ Voldemort said in faux happiness. He turned around, leaving Cedric's body as if he was no more than the pebbles under the snake's feet. "I'd almost forgotten about you standing there on the bones of my father. You're the guest of honour after all."

"What have you done to him?" Harry gritted out, the pain in his head was getting worse as Voldemort came closer.

"I only gave him a little scratch, that's all. I haven't killed him, if that's what you're asking, which you most certainly are. But Harry, I'd love to chat with you some more, especially now that I can touch you. However, I have to … _call_ my old friends to joins us. So, you just wait right here."

As Voldemort turned to talk to Wormtail, giving the traitorous rat a new hand, Harry tried so hard to free himself off the statue's hold on on him. True to his words, Harry saw that Voldemort hadn't killed Cedric. But he might as well did, by making a long cut on Cedric's face, going diagonally from the right side of his face to his left, fatally injuring Cedric's left eye in the process. The Hufflepuff must have fainted from all the pain, but judging from the way his breathings began to falter, Harry knew death wasn't far for Cedric. Harry was determined to get to Cedric, and he was too busy trying to free himself, he didn't realise what had been happening around him. Out of the blue, the statue moved, and Harry dropped unceremoniously onto the ground. He was about to make a mad dash toward Cedric, when Voldemort shot him with the Cruciatus Curse. In all his fourteen years of life, Harry had been in pain quite a few times because of the injuries he suffered. But _nothing_ compared to the pain he felt when the Curse hit him. It felt like he was being stabbed a million times, and his insides felt like burning. He didn't even realise he was screaming until the Curse was lifted from him, and his throat felt sore. Panting, Harry looked up to meet Voldemort's sadistic grin, and only then did he notice that there were people surrounding them. _Death Eaters._ He noticed there were spaces between the Death Eaters, and he knew one of them should have been Regulus' place or Lucius'.

"Ah, Harry, I'm disappointed in you," Voldemort said. "Haven't your _Godfathers_ taught you some manners? When someone is talking, you listen to them. Especially when they're your superiors."

"My Godfathers taught me that _you_ talk too much… _Tom_ ," Harry said bravely. The way Voldemort recoiled made it looked as if he'd been slapped, and Harry thought the so-called Dark Lord was going to kill him for his comment. Instead, Voldemort merely gave a cool chuckle that made shivers ran down his spine.

"I'm going to kill you, Harry Potter," Voldemort said calmly. "I'm going to destroy you, and then I'm going after your family. I will kill Sirius Black and that _half-breed_ Remus Lupin, after I make them watch how I torture their wives and children. And you'll die with the knowledge in mind that you can't do _nothing,_ absolutely nothing, to stop me."

The thought that his family dead set a fire in the pit of his stomach. It was rage, and hatred, and it was powerful enough to give him the strength to stand back on his feet and calmly stare at Voldemort in the face. Gripping his wand tightly in his hand, he said, "You'll have to kill me first, Tom. I challenge you to a duel. Just you and me."

"Huh." If Voldemort was taken aback by Harry's challenge, he hid it really well. "Well, we'll have to do it properly then. First, we bow to each other."

"I will not – "

 _"Bow, you insolent little brat!"_

Harry had no choice but to do so when Voldemort sent another Curse in his way.

"Now, isn't that good? Your parents would be _so_ proud of you – "

 _"Expelliarmus!"_

 _"Avada Kedavra!"_

At the mention of his parents, it was the little push Harry needed. He watched in determination as the red of his spell met Voldemort's green. He tried to hold it for as long as he could. It looked like Voldemort was going to win at first. But Harry was determined. This was the man who had killed his parents, who had caused so much pain to his family. He had to defeat Voldemort. Not to save the world, but to give his family the relieve they needed. He repeated that in his mind like a mantra, over and over again. Then he saw the point where the two spells met began to shift toward Voldemort, whose eyes widened in disbelief. When it touched the tip of Voldemort's wand, silvery light exploded, forming a dome around them, isolating Harry and Voldemort from the Death Eaters. Harry watched in fascination as figures began to form around them, like Patronuses. The first one to appear was the old Muggle from his dream. Then there was Bertha Jorkins, who was reported to be missing since the start of the year. Many men and women and children came out from Voldemort's wand. But Harry only had his attention to the two figures who jumped out from the wand much later; a man who looked like an older version of Harry and a woman who had his eyes.

James and Lily Potter – _his parents._

"Mum… Dad…" Harry breathed. The two of them smiled as they went to each of his sides.

"Hello, Fawn," James said, giving him a wink. "You did a great job. You just have to hold on real quick before he comes. But you must leave as quick as you can because we can only hold Voldy off for so long, okay? Don't forget to get the Cup because it's the only way you can return to Hogwarts."

"Wait, what? _He_?" Harry asked. "W-what do you mean, Dad? Mum?"

Instead of answering, Lily said, "We're _so_ proud of you, Harry. We really are. And I want you to remember that we love you so, _so_ much. Now let go, love. _Let go_."

A part of him, the part that missed his parents greatly and just wanted everything to be over, was tempted to let Voldemort win just so he could be with them. But Harry knew that was wrong. It wasn't his time yet. He still had so much to do. So, he braced himself before he broke off the connection. All of the silvery figures that surrounded him and Voldemort rushed toward the evil wizard, and Harry didn't waste his time. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, he made his way toward Cedric, who already had someone with him. _It was Regulus._ He heard the Head of the Sacred told him to move faster, and even though it felt impossible, Harry ran faster. He Summoned the Cup at the same time his hand found Regulus. With a jerk, the Cup took them back to Hogwarts, and the three of them landed roughly back on the ground of the Quidditch pitch. It was crazy back in Hogwarts. There was a lot of yelling, and people were moving all over the place. Regulus didn't even falter when he lifted Cedric into his arms and yelled for Dorcas, who came running as fast as she could toward him with Madam Pomfrey and her team of Healers. Harry heard Cedric's father let out a heartbreaking wail at the sight of his son, and Harry knew that the man feared for the worst. He briefly heard Dumbledore told him to stay put as he went to calm everyone else with Sirius and Remus by his side. Harry was okay to do exactly as he was told to do, when he felt strong hands pulled him onto his feet.

"Come on, son. We'll check that arm of yours," a gruff voice said that he recognised as Moody's.

"But Dumbledore told me to stay here," Harry said, even as he let himself being led into Moody's office. The truth was, the Seeker was in a bit of a shock, his mind couldn't really process what was happening around him.

"You're going to let it infected. Merlin knows what kind of contamination that knife is exposed to from the graveyard… Now, sit here. I'll go get something to stop the bleeding."

But Harry wasn't listening. Moody's words just rang loudly in his mind, and he played them on repeat like a Muggle tape. Swallowing thickly as he listened to Moody bustling around in his storage, Harry said, "H-how… How did you know I was cut by a knife, sir? How did…how did you know about the graveyard?"

The bustling stop, and there was an eerie silence that followed. Then in a tone that sounded unfamiliar in Moody's voice, "Well, well, well... You're _a lot_ smarter than I ever gave you credit for, Potter. _Well done._ "

"Who are you?" Harry asked, eyeing the fake-Moody from where he was seated. "Where's the real Moody? What have you done to – "

" _Silence!"_ fake-Moody hissed, and Harry flinched when the man's face began to change, obvious signs that the effects of the Polyjuice Potion was wearing off. "Now tell me, _punk;_ how did you know I'm not Moody? Not even Dumbledore knew about it."

"I know the real Moody. He'd never disobey Dumbledore's orders."

"Hm. You _are_ smart. And all this time, I thought you were an idiot like your arrogant, blood-traitor, of a Godfather. Which is a wonder, really, since I pretty much helped you to win all your tasks."

"You did not! My family and friends helped me!" Harry yelled.

Fake-Mood rolled his eyes. "Oh, _please._ Like that oaf Hagrid would ever come up with the idea to spill the beans to you? And Diggory wouldn't have known about dipping the egg into water if I hadn't told him myself. Same goes for you and that sorry excuse of a wizard, Longbottom. I knew he'd listen in on me talking to McGonagall about Gillyweed. And guess how did I know about how you're looking for Gillyweed? Because I overheard him asking for it from Sprout. So, you should thank me for helping you, Potter."

"It was you," Harry breathed as everything began to make sense. "It was all you, wasn't it? You put my name in the Goble of Fire. You were the one who Imperiused Krum. It was all your doing."

"Aye, it was all my doing," fake-Moody drawled monotonously. "You only won because I made it so. My plan was to get you to the Dark Lord. But Krum ruined everything when he sent that flare, and revealed everything to Dumbledore. And when the Dark Lord Summoned us all, that _traitorous_ Regulus Black realised that you could only be where Voldemort was. So he went to get you, and you returned with a dying Diggory in tow."

"It seems that your elaborate plan didn't work," Harry said, smirking. "Because I'm still here."

"Yeah… But, I'm going to change that. Prepare to join your parents, Potter. _Avada Keda – "_

" _Expelliarmus!"_

The door flew opened as fake-Moody was thrown across the room. Dumbledore came marching in with Sirius, Remus, Regulus, McGonagall _and_ Snape. For the first time since Harry knew his Headmaster, he'd never seen Dumbledore that angry. The old man gave a quick nod to his companion, and Harry watched Snape poured down a liquid down fake-Moody's throat, who was being held by Sirius and Remus. Regulus and McGonagall immediately went to Harry's side, both their wands at the ready. Slowly, fake-Moody began to transform into his true form. The facial structure got more angular and younger as the body became slimmer. The grey hair changed into a strawberry-blond colour, at the same time Moody's fake eyes rolled onto the floor. Harry remembered the man to be the one from his dream, the man who was with Wormtail and Voldemort in that old house. He also remembered that the man was the same person who was in Dumbledore memory during the trial for the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom all those years ago. He didn't look much like his recently deceased father, and Harry could guess that he took after his mother. Everyone was silent as they stared at the man, whose eyes were set on only one person in the room.

And it was Regulus.

"Hello, Barty," the Head of the Sacred greeted calmly. "Long time no see, eh?"

Barty Crouch junior glared murderously at Regulus when he replied, "Hello… _old friend._ "

* * *

When Regulus put Cedric on the stretcher as gently as he could, the first thing he did was to look for Harry. For some reason, he had a feeling that Harry was in grave danger. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw Moody was pulling on Harry's hand, dragging the boy back into the castle. Except Regulus knew it _couldn't_ be the legendary Auror. Mad-Eye Moody was famous for a lot of things, and one of them was his loyalty to Dumbledore. Everyone who knew the man knew that if Dumbledore told him to jump off cliff, he'd do it, no questions asked. There was no doubt that the imposter could only be a Death Eater, and the thought made him shuddered. For a whole year, Harry and the rest of Hogwarts students were in close proximity with a Death Eater – and not even _Dumbledore_ knew about it. He was on his way to his brother and Remus, as he wondered which one of Voldemort's men it was that had pretended to be Moody, when he saw the imposter did something _familiar._ However, that gesture wasn't something that Moody would do. Oh, it was the signature move of someone else. Someone that Regulus knew really well.

 _("Why do you do that?")_

 _("Do what?")_

 _("That. Rubbing your knuckles with your other hand.")_

 _("Oh. My father likes to hit them, you see. As a punishment whenever I fail him something. He's broken them so many times already, it's miracle the hand is still functional. Even though the bones are healed, I always feel the stinging pain of his cane busting them.")_

"Sirius! Remus!" he yelled, yanking at his brother's hand, who was busy talking to a group of Aurors. "Brother, we have to go now!"

"What are you talking about, Reg?" Sirius asked. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"It's Harry." The moment the boy's name is mentioned, both Marauders tensed. "He's taken by someone who's _not_ Moody. I have a bad feeling about this, Sirius."

"Wait, _what?_ " the older Black yelped. "What do you- how do you know that's not Moody?"

"Because – "

"Because the real Alastor Moody would _never_ go against my words," Dumbledore calmly, but Regulus could definitely sense danger behind it. The old man had suddenly appeared with Snape and McGonagall with him, his blue eyes shone in a kind of anger that made Regulus shrunk in fear.

"Professor," Regulus said, swallowing heavily. "We have to go after Harry and that imposter, sir."

"Do you know who that is, Mr Black?"

"Oh, yes," the Head of the Sacreds muttered. "I know him _very_ well."

There was no doubt who that imposter could be.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's _go,"_ Sirius said, pushing Regulus out of the way with Remus hot on his trails.

Sirius was always the one who could run faster, but as he chased after the retreating figure of Harry with fake-Moody, Regulus noticed he'd never seen Sirius ran that fast. The Auror nearly gave away his secret as an unregistered Animagus when he abruptly changed into a dog, ignorant of the fact that if any of the Ministry officer saw him, he'd be sent to Azkaban. Using his dog senses, the Auror sniffed the ground to know his way around. Regulus was a little surprise to find that Dumbledore was quick enough to catch up with him, despite his age. Together, the five of them followed after Sirius, who took them down a familiar path. They were heading to the DADA classroom, and Regulus could only imagine that fake-Moody had taken Harry to his office. Sirius transformed back into his human form when Remus tried to break down the classroom door. Finding no Harry or fake-Moody, they quickly headed for the teacher's office. True enough, they heard voices from inside the room. The moment the first word of the Killing Spell was uttered, Remus shot a spell to knock down the door, at the same Sirius sent a Stunner on fake-Moody. As everyone went to do their assigned jobs that were unspokenly agreed by everyone, Regulus stiffly took a spot right next to Harry. When Snape poured down the Veritaserum down his throat, the Head of the Sacred could feel all his insides went cold as he looked at his best friend for the first time in years. He'd _done_ it. The creepy bastard had actually done it. He got out of Azkaban.

And he was staring at Regulus as if he wanted to murder him – which could only be true.

"Hello, Barty… Long time no see, eh?"

At this, Barty's glare hardened as he spat, "Hello, old friend."

"Looking good, Bart. Too bad the only date you'll ever get is with your ex, a Dementor named _Death_. But hey, at least you've known each other from your time in Azkaban."

"You traitor," Barty snarled. "You _fucking_ traitor. I can live with the fact that you betrayed the Dark Lord. You've always been a bit of a wuss, Reg. But you betrayed _me._ "

"I betray- I betray y – " Regulus snapped. " _YOU_ BETRAYED _ME_ FIRST, REG! WHEN YOU DRAGGED ME ALONG WITH YOU TO TORTURE THE LONGBOTTOMS!"

"YEAH, BUT THEN YOU _LEFT!_ YOU LEFT ME TO ROT ALONE IN AZKABAN!"

"WELL, YOU DESERVE IT, YOU PSYCOPATH!"

" ** _ENOUGH!_** " Dumbledore thundered, his voice louder than Regulus had ever heard of him. Staring down at Barty long and hard, Dumbledore said, "Regulus, if you can't calm yourself, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Noted," Regulus muttered after awhile, once he managed to calm down. He settled quietly beside his brother, who gave him a supportive embrace. This caught Barty's attention though.

"Of course," Barty chuckled mirthlessly. "At the end of the day, you'll always seek for your brother's help. _Always_ too much off a coward to fight your own battles."

"Why, you slithering bas – "

"How did you do it?" Sirius said quickly, cutting of Regulus' words. "How did you escape Azkaban?"

Barty turned his attention to Sirius and gave the Auror a deranged smile. "Didn't Pettigrew tell you about it, Black? Or were you still so arrogant that you didn't believe a thing he said? I'll admit, the rat _is_ unreliable. But he's pretty dedicated, I'll give him that."

"So, your mother really did take your place instead?" Sirius asked, causing Regulus to whip his head in Sirius' direction. He couldn't believe his brother knew about it and _didn't_ tell him. But then again, if Pettigrew was the messenger, it was understandable for Sirius to doubt the information.

"Yes, she did." Regulus noticed that at the mention of his mother, he softened a bit. "But Mother was already sick anyway. Because of _Father,_ " he spat viciously, an animalistic look in his eyes. "I killed the bastard, you know? Transformed him into a bone. Would have preferred to do a lot worse, but Potter was coming to get you and everyone else, so whatever. But he deserved a lot worse. After everything he did to me and my mother."

Then Barty began to recount everything that happened since the day his mother took his place as a prisoner of Azkaban. Even after everything, Regulus couldn't help it when his heart went out for him. After all, Barty _was_ his friend. In the back of his mind, Regulus still cared for the insane maniac who went out of his way to cheer Regulus up after his first fight with Sirius. The idea that the man lived the next twelve years of his life under the influnce of the _Imperio_ was too much for him to handle. It was miracle that Barty's mind was still in tact. The Imperiatus Curse tended to destory their victim's minds after a long time of exposure. But, looking at his former friend, it did seem that something really did break his friend. When Barty spoke proudly about his loyalty to Voldemort, Regulus felt like shaking the bastard so hard so he'd snap out of the idiocy he was brainwashed with. But it was impossible. Barty was too far gone. He would rather die than betray Voldemort.

"Albus, can we please continue this later?" McGonagall said, speaking out for the first. "Harry needs to see Dorcas, for his arm. It's still bleeding."

One glance at Harry then, "Of course. Sirius, Remus, I guess you get everything from him already? I'll go take Harry to see Dorcas, but I'll be back as soon as I can. I trust the four of you are mature enough to deal with Mr Crouch."

"Yes, Professor," Remus replied. Sirius, Regulus and Snape gave the same affirmative response.

"You're married?" Barty asked once Dumbledore left. His eyes, those hazel brown eyes that used to shine whenever he talked about his favourite book, eyed the ring around Regulus' left ring-finger.

"I am," Regulus said stiffly, remembering Irina's words.

"To whom? Is it that stupid harpy? The Parkinson girl? Or one of Greengrass' slutty cousin? Or is it Pucey's little sister?"

"It's none of you goddam business. You're going to get a Dementor's kiss. You better worry about that instead."

But Barty didn't seem to listen or to care. Letting what almost sounded like a giggle, he said, "You know what, Reg? I used to be in love with you, you know. Heck, I _still_ am in love with you. But you _never_ noticed it. You're always so wrapped up in your little world as Slytherin's little celebrity, our House favourite Prince, surrounded by all those girls who are _so_ beneath you."

"Bloody hell…" Sirius breathed, looking back and forth between Regulus and Barty. But the former wasn't paying attention to his brother.

"I know," Regulus said. "At least, I know that now. I should have known that you were the reason why all of my girlfriends would suddenly get sick out of the blue."

"You should have… But, oh well. No use in dwelling in the past. You're married now to a silver-spooned Pureblood princess, popping Pureblood babies to continue your stinking lineage. And I'm going to get my soul sucked out by Dementors. We all have our new lives to deal with. _Joy._ "

Regulus knew he should leave it at that. He _knew_ that was for the best.

But for some reason, his mouth had a last-second decision and decided to spill the beans to Barty.

"Irina is Muggle, not a Pureblood," Regulus said before he could stop himself. "So that makes my daughter Astrid a half-blood."

"SHE'S A _WHAT_?" Barty yelled, positively enraged. He looked like he was about to get up from the chair he was sitting on, but the three wands from Sirius and Remus and Snape seemed to change his mind. Clenching his jaw, he continued. "Reg, don't tell me you're marrying one of those filth. Don't tell me you've even _bedded_ one to produce another fil – "

Regulus had stopped listening.

"HOW DARE YOU CALLED MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER 'FILTH'? THE ONLY FILTH AROUND HERE IS YOU, YOU DISGUSTING SNAKE!"

"YOU'VE SULLIED THE GREAT NAME OF THE BLACK FAMILY! FOR SALAZAR'S SAKE, MARRYING ONE OF THOSE HARPIES IS BAD ENOUGH ALREADY. YOU'RE MARRYING A _MUGGLE?_ "

"WATCH IT, PRICK. ONE MORE WORD AGAINST MY WIFE OR DAUGHTER, I'M GOING TO _KILL_ YOU."

"NOT IF I KILL _THEM_ FIRST! MARK MY WORDS, I'M GOING TO MAKE THEIR DEATHS SO PAINFUL. ESPECIALLY THAT BITCH YOU MARRIED, REG."

Regulus didn't even realise he'd taken out his wand. He didn't realise his wand raised, and was aimed at his former friend. He didn't realise that he already had a spell in his mind, and the incactation was right on the tip of his tongue. That was until Sirius pushed his face in Regulus' line of his sight, hands on each side of Regulus' shoulder to stop himself from doing whater stupid thing he might. "Don't do it, brother. If you do it, I'll be forced to drag your arse to Azkaban for murder."

" _Me?_ But he was the one who started it! He insulted my wife and daughter, Sirius! And then he _threatened_ to harm them! Let's see what _you_ would have done if someone insulted Marlene and your children, and threatened to kill them."

"Yes, I understand that. But he's not going to do anything about it. He's going to go back to Azkaban tomorrow, and you're coming back to your family tonight. Everything's fine, Reg."

"I think it'll be wise to say that you should ask your brother to leave, Black," Snape drawled to Sirius. "Lest he'll do something we all will regret."

"I agree," Remus quipped. Giving Regulus an apologetic smile, he said, "I'm sorry, Reg. But it's for the best. For _your_ best."

" _Fine_. I can't stand another second here anyway." Regulus headed for the door. But then he stopped, which prompted a few intrigued looks from everyone else. "Hey, Bart?"

"What?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. I just want you to know that I am head-over-heels in love with my wife. And I want you to go face Dementor with the knowledge that not only you lost me, but you have lost me to a _Muggle_ woman. I want that to be your last concrete thought before you turn loopy."

"You – "

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a wife and daughter to return to."

" _NO!_ REGULUS BLACK, COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANCE. _REGULUS!_ YOU BLOODY BASTARD!"

As Regulus left the room where Barty was screaming his throat sore for Regulus to come back, he realised that he finally got the closure he always prayed for. Because, as he closed the door behind him without looking back, Regulus he knew that that wasn't only the door that he was talking about. In away, he was also closing the door to the past that he wanted no part of anymore.

And he closed it _firmly._


	41. FOURTH YEAR: Chapter 10

**NOTES:** It's a bit short, I know. But hey, consider it as a Christmas present! ;)

* * *

Luna knew, the moment Viktor came screaming out of the maze, she knew that her nightmare was coming to life. The previous night when she woke up abruptly because of the dream she had, it was the first time in her whole life to feel _terrified_ of what she saw in her dream. The image of Cedric, lying lifeless on the ground, with his parents and Harry crying over Cedric's _dead_ body, was so vivid Luna thought it was real at first. She didn't even care that it was three in the morning when she rumaged her trunk, searching for the old medalion her mother gave her back when she was only five. According to her mother, the medallion was the Fawley family heirloom, owned by generations of Fawley women since the seventeenth century, to ward of all kinds of Dark Magic that could have harmed the Fawley women whenever their fathers or husbands or brothers wouldn't be able to protect – even from the Killing Curse. The girl had to admit, though she believed a great many _absurd_ things in life, the idea that there was an object that was powerful enough to protect someone from the Killing Curse was too much even for her. However, she kept the medallion close to her at all times, because it was the last thing she had of her mother.

But when her fingers touched the medallion that was buried under all her clothes, to avoid getting stolen from her room-mates, Luna could finally feel the powerful magic that was promised to her and all the other Fawley women before her. She knew that the medallion was the only thing that could protect Cedric, and even though she was still upset with him and had no idea when things would finally go back to normal between them, she immediately went to see him at the Head quarters so she could give him the medallion. She wouldn't let all the ridiculous pride and ego she'd let to build between them to stop her from saving him. Despite everything that happened, Luna would still do _everything_ she could, if it meant she'd be protecting Cedric.

 _("Mummy, please don't let them take him away from me. Protect him, please…")_

It had been almost a month since the end of Triwizard Tournament. Both Harry and Cedric were declared as the winner, making it the first time since the first Tournament to have _two_ Champions, _and_ from the same school. But almost no one cared about it. All of their attention was focused on the news Dumbledore gave, which was about the return of Voldemort. The Headmaster also told about what happened to both Cedric and Harry during the Third Task, who were still recovering in the Infirmary, and how they both nearly died at the hands of Voldemort and his men. However, Dumbledore was barely finish talking when the Prime Minister came barging into the Great Hall with a group of Aurors, looking absolutely enraged that his face had turned purple. The short man began yelling about how Dumbledore was lying, and that there was _no way_ Voldemort had returned. Fudge only stopped yelling when Regulus Black and Severus Snape stepped forward, pulling the sleeves of their robes, revealing the ugly tattoo that marred their arms.

" _Death Eaters!"_ Fudge had yelped, nearly tripping of his feet when he jumped backward away. "You two are Death Eaters!"

"I hardly think that's news, Prime Minister," Snape drawled dryly. "After all, you were there at my _trial,_ weren't you? And there was a week-long headline about Regulus being a Death Eater."

"And that's not why we're showing you our Dark Marks, Fudge," Regulus said in an equally monotone voice. "These Marks here are prove that Lord Voldemort really _has_ returned. Dumbledore is telling you the truth."

Fudge wasn't listening though. Instead, he was yelling to the Aurors that came with him to arrest both Regulus and Snape. But just when the Aurors were about to move forward, an invinsible force pushed threw them back powerfully, they went flying a few feet away from the two former Death Eaters. It didn't take everyone long to realise that the powerful spell had come from Sirius Black's extended wand that he waved in an almost bored manner. Luna had only seen Sirius from his pictures on the cover of Daily Prophet, and he was always smiling in those pictures. But as the Auror made his way toward his brother, his every step exuded power that made nearly everyone else flinch, Luna thought the man was positively terrifying.

"Anyone who _dares_ to touch my brother, and even stinking Snivellus, will have to face _me,_ " Sirius said, his tone eerily calm. "And I promise, I will make it as _painful_ as possible."

"Black, surely you don't believe what Dumbledore said!" Fudge said, his pudgy fingers playing with the edge of his bowler hat. "By saying that You-Know-Who has returned, more or less you've just declared your _lack_ of proficiency in stopping him from coming back."

"But by saying the opposite means I'm calling my own Godson, the boy I've raised like my own flesh and blood since I was barely older than all these Hogwarts students, a _liar,"_ Sirius replied coolly, his grey eyes glinted fiercely they almost looked white. "And I will _always_ stand with Harry."

"He's just a boy! He couldn't possibly – "

Twenty wands were raised in an inhuman speed when Sirius pointed his right between Fudge's eyes, half from those who protected the Minister, and the other half from Regulus and Remus and some of the professors who defended Sirius. But even the eight Aurors who came with Fudge looked hesitant when they raised their wands against their own Head Auror. Sirius didn't seem to care though. He merely tilted his head to the side and said, "My _son_ has done a lot more than you, you indecisive arse. Voldemort is back, and you have to deal with it. And if you keep denying it, I suggest you go talk to Cedric Diggory's parents, whose son nearly _died_ because of Voldemort, and tell that to their face, Fudge."

"How dare you – "

"Of course, I do. Although I'm no longer the Head of the Sacreds, I'm _still_ the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. If I give them the word, I can have all the _fifty four_ Pureblood families, not just the Sacreds, to withdraw their financial support from the Ministry. You know no one messes with the Blacks, Fudge. So, you better not mess with me."

Fudge looked beyond furious. But it paled in comparison to the fury behind Sirius' grey eyes. Looking around at all the people who were watching, he narrowed his eyes at Sirius and said, "You're going to regret this, Black. You're _not_ going to walk away after threatening the Ministry."

Sirius shrugged as he pocketed his wand and took a few steps back to stand beside his brother. "You may be the Ministry, Fudge. But we all know that _I_ am the British wizarding world. Now leave."

Luna and everyone else watched silently as Fudge left the Hall with his Aurors, looking both angry and embarrassed. Then, as if nothing had happened, Sirius turned toward Dumbledore, and gave him a wink, to which Dumbledore replied with a chuckle. He embraced his brother with one hand, ruffling the younger Black's hair, much to the brother's utmost exasperation. Dumbledore then concluded his speech with a few words about unity, before telling them all to eat their dinner. Luna finished hers quickly because she wanted to see Cedric. Ginny told her, who heard from Harry, that Cedric was finally awake after a week of being unconscious. The green-eyed boy told Luna's friend that the first thing Cedric said after waking up was that he refused to be visited by anyone but his parents. The Head Boy even made sure that he kept up the curtains around his bed at all times to prevent Harry's visitors from taking a peek at him. Luna knew for a fact that Cedric's friends and Cho Chang had spent a lot of times waiting outside of the infirmary, begging to Madam Pomfrey to be let in so they could visit Cedric. But of course, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let them. That was why Luna decided that she'd sneak out during the Great Feast, when everyone else, even Madam Pomfrey, would be to busy down in the Great Hall to notice her absence.

When she arrived in front of the door to the Infirmary, she knocked on the door a few times, only to receive no answer. But she heard the light ruffling of bedsheets from inside the room, and she knew Cedric should be awake. Taking a deep breath, Luna pushed the door opened and poked her head in from behind the door. "Cedric?" she called out in a small voice.

"What are you doing here?" Cedric said coolly, his head turned to the other side so that the unmarred side of his face was the only anyone could see. " _Go away._ "

"No," Luna said flatly, inviting herself in. "I'm here for you. I'll _always_ be here for you. Like you always have for me."

Her answer got him laughing, and she recoiled slightly upon hearing it, her steps faltering as she was making her way toward his bed. The sound of his laughter was unflattering, unlike the ones she was so used to hear since she was small. His laughter, which used to sound warm and pleasant, sounded cold and brutal. When he finally turned to look at her, she tried hard not to flinch at the dead look in his eyes, both the blind or the good one. "You're here for me? Don't make me laugh, Luna. You're here to gloat, aren't you? You're going to laugh at me. I can't blame you though. It must be _nice_ to see the boy who broke your heart in public get the payback he deserves."

His words cut her deeply, more than she was willing to admit. But she knew he was miserable, so she tried to bear it for him. "You of all people should know that I don't revel in other people's suffering, Cedric. But it's okay. I understand you need to vent. You're hurt, and now you feel like hurting someone. So, do it. Scream at me. Yell."

"You…"

Luna waited calmly for whatever he was going to say. But Cedric trailed off. Instead, he sighed and buried his face in his hands. It was much later when he finally lowered them, looking at Luna through lidded eyes. He flipped his palm opened and reached out toward her. Automatically, like she always did since she was nine and he was thirteen, she put her smaller hand inside his bigger one, always so trusting toward her Hufflepuff friend. A smile appeared on her face when his hand closed around hers, and her smile widened when he brought her hand to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss.

"You should hate me, you know," Cedric said in a small voice. "After all I've done to you, I deserve it. I _totally_ deserve it."

"No child deserves to get tortured for fighting the war of adults. And even though you feel like you're all grown up now, you're _still_ a child like me and everyone else in this school. So no, you don't deserve this. Not at all." Using her free hand to tap on their joined hands, Luna continued. "Besides, you're my friend. Regardless of what happened, you'll always be my friend first."

Smiling sadly, Cedric said. "You're too good, Princess. Too good to be true. Too good for me."

Luna returned his sad smile as she shrugged. "I'm just being a good friend."

Cedric sighed, closing his eyes tiredly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said, Luna. I could give you a thousand excuses, but none of them would change the fact that I was horrible to you."

"I was hurt. It broke my heart," Luna admitted in a small voice. "But you're sorry and that's all that matters to me. Not talking to you _killed_ me a lot more than the thought that you…that you didn't love me."

The older boy gave her another sad smile. He used one hand to cup Luna's face, caressing her skin softly as he whispered, "I _do_ love you, Luna. I never thought it was possible, but I do love my little Moon Princess. I always thought that I loved you like a little sister, but I was wrong. That was why it scared me. You're…you're four years younger than me. You're only fourteen. People would think I'd taken an advantage of you."

The Ravenclaw frowned, tilting her head to the side. "My mother was _thirteen_ years younger than my father. It mattered not to anyone."

"Yes, but she wasn't a kid, was she? She married your father when she was twenty, and had you when she was twenty one. She wasn't fourteen."

"Well, I didn't ask you to marry me now, did I?"

"Yeah, but I _do_ want to marry you."

Luna froze. There weren't many things in her life that could render her speechless. She was the one who rendered people speechless. That was her role in life, her father always told her. But as Luna looked back into Cedric's eyes, both his beautiful pewter one and his damaged eye, she really didn't know what to say. Minutes passed by in silence, with the both of them staring into each other's eyes. She didn't even realise she was crying until Cedric wiped her tears away. Nuzzling her face into his hand, she whispered, "You're not lying, are you? You're not saying this to make me happy, right? Because, if you are lying, I swear to Merlin, it's going to _ruin_ me. Don't break my heart for a second time, Cedric."

"Luna, no…" Cedric said, pulling the girl closer until she was burying her face on the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I really am. But I promise, I'm _not_ lying. I'm not going to hurt you again. I love you, remember?"

"Sometimes love make people do things they regret," Luna said, her voice muffled against the fabric of Cedric's shirt. "Things that would hurt their loved ones."

"And who told you that?" Cedric said, cupping Luna's face in his hands.

"That's what my mother did when she found out she was dying. She killed herself by intentionally setting her experiment to blow up. Mummy didn't want me and Daddy to know that she's dying from the lung sickness she suffered. _I_ knew it though. I saw her coughing out blood into her handkerchief, I saw life slowing leaving her body, even through her Glamour. But she didn't know that by killing herself, she was hurting Daddy and me too. She didn't know that when she robbed us of the chance to say goodbye to her."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Cedric said, giving a kiss on Luna's temple. "That's a terrible thing for you to know, and you've been keeping that knowledge a secret all these years… But like I said before, I'm serious this time. I love you, and I do intend on marrying you one day. Maybe not now, or tomorrow, or next year. But I will, I promise. After all, you _saved_ me. You saved my life when you gave me your medallion." Luna's eyes immediately went to the medallion that hung around Cedric's neck.

"But you saved me first, Ced. All those years ago when I was nine and you were thirteen."

"That makes it fair, then. Now all I have to do is to make sure you live a happy life. We really shouldn't waste all our hard work on saving each other's arses."

When Cedric winked at her, it was the first time since their huge fight that Luna laughed. She laughed, and laughed, and _cried_ , because her heart felt like bursting with all the love and joy that she felt. "I… I uh… I don't know what to say."

Cedric shrugged, giving Luna a mischievous smile. "Just say you love me."

Luna thought her face would split when she beamed at him. Cedric scooted a bit to the side, and she climbed onto the spot beside him, curling herself against Cedric's chest, feeling like they were nine and thirteen again. Humming gently when she felt Cedric hugged her, she then whispered the words that Cedric wanted to her, the same words that she'd always wanted to say – _repeatedly._

"I love you, I love you, I love you, _I love you…_ "

 _("Thank you, Mummy. Thank you for keeping Cedric safe.")_

* * *

Cornelius Fudge was furious. To say that he was hated Sirius Black would be the utmost understatement of the century. That arrogant, meddlesome, _brat_ had always been a huge pain in the neck for him. When he heard from his predecessor, Millicent Bagnold, many years ago about the change of Black Heir from Sirius to his brother Regulus, who received the news from the late Orion Black himself, Fudge thought it was good riddance. Fudge remembered the older Black brother, who was five years his junior, and he remembered his last two years of absolute chaos because of Sirius and his equally annoying friends. Even before he became a Senior Minister, the thought that the Ministry would have to deal with Sirius once he took over his father's position as Head of the Sacreds was simply horrifying. Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened when Regulus died before his father did, giving Orion no choice but to put Sirius back as his Heir. Everyone thought it was very fortunate that Orion was quick enough to do that before his death in 1980, followed just a year later by his wife. But not Fudge. He knew just how troubling Sirius could be.

When Bagnold retired in 1990, everyone rallied for Dumbledore to take over the position. However, like it had always been since the 1960s, the old man refused. Then it was a toss-up between Barty Crouch senior and Marlene Black, formerly McKinnon, as the next best candidates. But ever since Crouch lost his popularity after sending his own son to Azkaban, people began to favour McKinnon over him. She would have been the Minister for sure, if it weren't for the fact that her partner was the Head of the Sacreds, which made her ineligible for fear of collusion between the two of them. That was when Fudge's name came up, as the third-in-line of the list of candidates. The first thing Fudge did on his first day at the office, however, wasn't making new laws or fundamental changes to the laws, like Bagnold did when she was elected. No, the first thing Fudge did as Prime Minister was to gather as many dirt about Sirius as he possibly could. Even though Bagnold never complained about Sirius as the Head of the Sacreds, Fudge realised the same wouldn't be said about him and the Auror. Therefore, he'd need leverage.

It was easier said than done though. Even if he discounted the fact that Sirius Black was Head of the Sacreds, Fudge doubted it would be easy to find anything unfavourable about the Auror. As a Black, everything about him was literally sealed tightly and kept safely in their one of their _many_ vaults in Gringotts. Fudge didn't give up so easily though. He immediately turned to the Daily Prophet and history books, hoping he'd find something about Sirius' ancestors instead. For the second time, Fudge didn't get any dirt on Sirius and his ancient family, except for the fact that they had a long history of inbreeding and a fondness toward the Dark Arts. However, what he found was rather important. He always knew that both Sirius and Regulus were equally exceptional wizards. They showed signs of great power since they were no older than a toddler, back when they first developed their magic. He never thought that it had to do with the fact that both brothers were descendants of the great fae of the Winter Court, Queen Mab. He found out that their magic was tied to the Black Manor and its vast property, especially the ancient Snow Tree that grew in the middle of the forest that surrounded the Manor. According to the books he read, if someone were to… _destory_ the tree, it would greatly harm the brothers. Not to the extent of killing them, but enough to weaken their magic for about five months to a year. It would also make them horribly sick, grave enough to put them bedridden for weeks.

It was the perfect solution to punish not only Sirius, but Regulus as well.

Fudge had to time it perfectly though. It would be near impossible to destory the Tree during winter, seeing that everything about the Black property was winter-based. Not to mention, the Tree had the power to regrow itself rather quickly, although it would still take a whole year to do so, even if the magic of winter times would help a great deal. Fudge realised that it would have to be done in the middle of the summer, especially when the brothers weren't at the Manor. If the brothers were away, it would hurt them even more when the Tree was destroyed. Decision made, he quickly told his plan to his most trusted Minister, his Deputy back when he was still a Senior Minister. She was probably the only one out of all the Ministry officials who didn't look up to the Blacks as if they were Gods. He could even say that the woman probably wasn't really fond of the almight Black brothers. He'd talked to her already about his plan to hurt Sirius Black and the family he so loved, and when the woman's eyes glinted as she listened in on his plan, Fudge knew his plan was solid.

He was _ready._

"Minister Fudge?" a sickening sweet voice said from behind the door to Fudge's office.

"Oh yes! Come in, come in!" Fudge answered enthusiastically.

The guest turned out to be a woman around Fudge's own age, and she was remarkably short. Everything about the woman was hideously _pink_ , and although she was the only one Fudge trusted, he couldn't deny the fact that his eyes hurt whenever he looked at her. But, despite her awful choice of wardrobe, and lack in height, Fudge wouldn't have chosen anyone else but her to do such an important task. The Prime Minister eyed the woman who took a seat across him, a big smile playing in her face, making her resemblace to a frog to be more pronounced.

"I need your help," Fudge said straight to the point. "I need you do something for me."

Tilting her head to the side, still smiling that obnoxious smile, Dolore Umbridge said, "Of course, Minister. What do you want me to do?"


	42. FIFTH YEAR: Chapter 1

**NOTES:** Hello! Hello! Hello! We meet again, in a brand new year lol :P I'm sorry it took me quite long to update. But, as cliche as it is, college has been _absolutely_ craaaaaazy. On top of that, I've been really sick lately. Been getting nosebleeds a lot, which is weird because I never got them growing up._. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Haven't proof-read, as usual. I have this really important assignment I have to finish soon, unfortunately. But, I hope you like this chapter. _And oh!_ It's almost the two years anniversary of this story! I'd love it if you guys take a little time to tell me what you think of the story so far. Constructive criticism is okay, but no flames. Promise? Okay, on you go with the story now! :)

* * *

Oliver sat quietly on the foot of his bed, uncaring to his state of undress. Turning his head slightly to look at his… _lover_ from over his shoulder, his heart ached at the sight of Percy sleeping peacefully, despite the horrible thing that just happened to him. It was only a few days ago when Percy came barging into Oliver's flat late in the evening, carrying his trunk with barely repressed tears in his eyes. The first thing Oliver noticed, other than his trunk, was the stench of alcohol coming off from the ginger. He was about to ask the former Head Boy what happened, when the drunk ginger smashed his lips onto Oliver's, pushing his way inside the flat roughly and almost leaving his trunk outside in his haste and desperation. The rest of the evening was a blur to him, and even though Percy seemed to feel much better before he passed out, Oliver kind of regretted the fact that their first time had to be so rushed though.

The former Keeper only knew a little from the few words he managed to get from Percy between kisses, but it was enough for him to conclude everything. It seemed that the whole Weasley clan wasn't too fond of Percy's promotion. His parents, especially Mr Weasley, even said that the only reason they promoted Percy was because the newly feud the Ministry had with Dumbledore and the Black brothers, and by having Percy on their side, they could use him to get the information they wanted from Dumbledore and the Blacks. Obviously, Percy was offended, and seeing that the Weasleys were famous for their temper, it was easy to say that the normally stoic ginger snapped. Oliver didn't know the details, but from what Percy insinuated, he might have said a few harsh words to his parents in his rage. But he only left his house because his older brothers, whom he really looked up, didn't defend him to his parents, and instead took their side.

"They have always belittle me. Since the day I was born, I _never_ matter to them," Percy whispered before he fell asleep, absentmindedly playing with Oliver's hair. "And I couldn't take it anymore. I _had_ to leave. I couldn't even _look_ at them without feeling absolutely mad."

Oliver could only nod his head because deep down, he agreed with Percy's family. Everyone knew about Fudge's newly estranged relationship with Dumbledore and the Black brothers. Then there was also the fact that after Percy's failure to realise that his boss the late Crouch senior was being held captive by Voldemort, it would be impossible for him to get a promotion. But Oliver kept it to himself as he hugged Percy tightly, whispering softly in the ginger's ears that he _promised_ he would never turn his back against him, no matter what happened.

"I promise you, Perce, when the whole world has turned their back on you, you'll find me to be the only one who's still facing you, with a big smile on my face," Oliver said.

Percy let another wave of tears that put him to asleep, all those crying had rendered him exhausted. That was a few days ago. Percy had stayed with him for almost week by then, refusing to answer the Patronus Charm his parents and older brother sent him. Glancing up at the clock on the wall across their shared bed, Oliver was brought back to present time when he saw that it was already three in the morning, and Oliver realised he would have to go get ready soon because he had an early practise. But Oliver found himself couldn't sleep. Percy's fight with his parents brought back the memories of _his_ fight with his own parents. There was a reason why Oliver moved all the way from his parents' home in Dundee to the flat in London that he bought on-the-spot, spending almost all his savings. Being a half-blood who was born from half-blooded parents, who were raised as devout Roman Catholics, Oliver knew that his parents wouldn't be too accepting of his new relationship with Oliver. He didn't really plan to tell them at first, thinking that he should discuss it with Percy about when would be the right time. But his mother was exceptionally annoying that day, telling him that he should see this girl that she thought would be perfect for him. Oliver didn't even realise what he'd done until it was too late.

 _("Get out, son. Leave_ my _house before I do something that we all will regret.")_

Oliver kept it a secret from Percy, because he knew the ginger was sort of hoping for Oliver's parents to be accepting of him. If he found out how his parents practically disowned Oliver, there was no doubt that Percy would feel guilty about it, and probably would even think that his own parents would disagree of his relationship with Oliver as well. But now that he wasn't talking to anyone in his family, Oliver knew that it would take years until they would have to come out to the Weasleys. The Keeper only wished it wouldn't take so long. He liked the Weasleys. They always welcomed him whenever he came over. He had long considered them family. However, it seemed that he had to wait for Percy to make things right with his family.

He felt the bed shifted under him, and he turned his head around to find Percy was already awake. He blinked his eyes a couple times, those blue eyes seemed like glowing. "Hey," the ginger greeted softly, reaching to the side for his horn-rimmed glasses.

"Hey," Oliver replied. "Thirsty?"

Percy closed his eyes, heaving deeply. "My head's a bit pounding from all the work I had to do today at work, but I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"All right. If you want me to, I can get you some potion to help you with the headache."

"No." The ginger opened his eyes, and pat the spot beside him softly. "Just…lay with me here."

"Okay," Oliver said, crawling back toward Percy and slid in under the covers.

Percy automatically opened his arms, pulling Oliver tightly into his arms. The Keeper sighed in content as he buried his face on the crook of Percy's neck. For a long time, the two of them just lay there in silence, wrapped in each other's arms. Even thought they slept together in his room the last time Percy was in his flat, they had never done _anything_. Oliver knew that Percy was still a little uncomfortable to admit about his sexuality, even to himself. That was why they never did anything, and Oliver was perfectly fine about that. He didn't mind waiting until Percy felt like they were ready. The fact that Percy was with him, _finally,_ was already a gift to him. Besides, Oliver was a firm believer that love didn't need to be proven by sexual activities. That day when Percy kissed him passionately that evening, his desire was so overwhelming to Oliver even though he knew that it was fueled by the alcohol in the ginger's system, it took Oliver off his guard a bit. But he could never say no to Percy. So, when he felt Percy's fingers urgently began to pull on Oliver's shirt, the Keeper started to walk back toward his bed room as he too pulled on Percy's shirt, their kiss never breaking.

 _(Loud moans filled the room, accompanied by the sound of bare flesh slapping against each other. He felt his face wet with tears as he gripped his sheets with one hand, the other hand was tugging on red strands of hair. It took him awhile though, as he relished on the feeling of lips raining kisses on his jawline, to realise that the tears on his face weren't his.)_

"Why didn't you tell me that your parents disowned you?" Percy said in a small voice, causing Oliver to freeze in his shock.

"How did you find out about that?" Oliver asked in return, voice equally small.

Percy clenched his jaw and turned his head toward the window. "After I left the Burrow, I went immediately to your house. I thought after being here in London for so long, you'd come to visit your parents during the holidays. Your mother opened the door for me. Wouldn't look at me in the eye, even though she was still polite enough to offer me drink. I knew right away that something was wrong. I was just asking her about you, when your father suddenly came into the room, saying that he'd kicked you out and that both you and I were no longer welcomed in his home. That was why I drank. It broke my heart that now, the two of us didn't have anyone to call family anymore. So, I came to the nearest pub I could find and drink myself stupid. Nearly got myself Splinched when I Apparated here."

Sighing heavily, Oliver said, "You shouldn't have done that. If anything horrible happened to you, did you ever think what would happen to me? I'd be _miserable_."

"I know. I'm sorry." Nuzzling his nose in Oliver's hair, Percy continued. "But it really pains me to think that we have no one else. Just the two of us in this mean, cruel world."

Oliver looked up so he was looking right into Percy's blue eyes. "You know what, Perce? I don't really care that we have no one else but each other. That's okay for me. _You_ are the only family I need."

When Percy rolled his eyes, Oliver knew that the ginger was secretly pleased. He saw the way Percy bit his lip, an obvious sign that he was trying to stop himself from grinning. "You are _so_ corny. You might want to change profession from an athlete to a poet, Wood."

The Keeper laughed. He glanced at the clock across him and found that it was already four. His practise began at six. Gently pushing Percy off him, he said, "I have to go for practise. The coach is going to have my arse if I'm late."

"Tell him I've had your arse _repeatedly_ last night," Percy drawled flatly as he flashed Oliver a cocky grin. Oliver couldn't help himself when his jaw dropped.

"Percy Weasley, did you just make a _joke?_ " Oliver said, laughing. The ginger merely shrugged as he too got off the bed.

"Hey, I grew up with Fred and George. Technically, humour runs in the family. I just prefered to be more reserved about it."

"Right. Sure. Making crude, sexual jokes is _totally_ reserved. Of course."

"Whatever, Wood," Percy said, still grinning.

The two of them had their breakfast almost an hour later. Because it was an emergency practise on a Saturday, Percy decided to tag along to Oliver's practise because he had nothing else to do. The Scottish was pleased that Percy would do something as accompanying Oliver to his practise, something that Percy often thought as a waste of time. But he kept quiet about it, knowing that Percy prefered it that way. They arrived at Puddlemere United's stadium just a half an hour before six, but everyone was already there. Percy quietly went to sit by the stands, giving Oliver a quick nod before he buried his nose on the book he brought with him. Oliver quickly went to change into his uniform, making sure that he didn't spend too much time, lest his coach would yell at him for being slow. He stood with the rest of the players once he returned to the pitch, listening with rapt attention to the coach's explanation. Even though he was only the reserve Keeper for the team, Wood was still having so much fun. He worked really hard to get noticed by the coach though, knowing that the only reason he wasn't playing permanently was because the Keeper who was his senior was still in his prime time and had a contract for the next five years.

The practise had gone on for a little over three hours when the coach told them to stop. Oliver was incredibly pleased with himself because he was sure he'd played really well even though his bones felt like aching. It was paid off though because just before he was going to go take a shower, the coach told him that for their next match, he wanted Oliver to play for the first thirty-minutes. It was definitely an upgrade from having to sit by the bench unless the permanent Keeper was injured. There was a smile on his face when he had his shower, and he even skipped a bit like a little girl when he was making his way toward Percy. He was stopped by a tap on his shoulder though, and when he turned to see who it was, he saw that it was none other than Regulus Black himself. Oliver was immediately reminded of Percy's promotion, and how everyone suspected that the ambitious ginger only got it because he had connections to the Black family.

"Mr Black," Oliver said politely, earning a smile from the Head of the Sacred. He'd met the man two times already, the first time when he and Percy found a tortured Draco Malfoy in their seventh year, and the second time was when the Malfoys took him along to the Quidditch World Cup.

"Hi, Oliver," the man said. "And please, call me Regulus. Like my brother, I don't really formalities. I find them to be annoying."

"I'm sorry," Oliver quickly added. Regulus shrugged, waving his apology aside.

"It's okay… By the way, do you know where can I find your friend Percy Weasley? He had a fight with his parents, and he'd run off a week ago. Harry told me you two are very close. I figured you'd know where he might me. His family is worried about him."

Oliver shifted his weight on his feet awkwardly, not knowing what he had to do. He had no doubt that Regulus _knew_ that Percy was staying with him. So lying to him would only be futile. But there was no way he was going to tell the man and betrayed Percy. He had just decided that he was going to lie to Regulus, when he felt someone standing behind him, at the same time Regulus' eyes turned toward the person behind him. It was the ginger in question himself. Oliver was expecting Percy to be angry at the fact that Regulus had come after him because his parents told him to. He even expected Percy to bail on him, just directly Apparating away while Oliver would try his best to stop Regulus from coming after him. Instead, he found Percy staring at Regulus with wide eyes, looking like he was about to freak out.

"Percy," Regulus greeted, still with a smile on his face. "So good to see you, mate. Your parents – "

"What are you doing here?" Percy said almost harshly, catching both Oliver and Regulus of their guards. "You're not supposed to be here."

"I beg you pardon?" Regulus said, his eyebrows raised, clearly offended.

But Percy ignored him. Looking around, he continued talking as if he hadn't just offended one of the most powerful wizard in Britain. "Where's your brother? Where's Auror Black?"

"Wherever he is, it's none of your business, _buddy._ You, on the other hand, need to – "

" _You_ have to go back home," Percy said urgently. "You have to go back to the Black Manor. Tell your brother to come home too. It's not safe for the both of you to leave home."

"Perce, what are you talking about?" Oliver asked, frowning. He was even more baffled when Percy took his wand out of his pocket, ready to Apparate.

"I don't have time to explain," the ginger said quickly. "Oliver, I want you to take Mr Black here back home. Make sure each one of his family member is at the Manor. I'll go look for his brother."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Regulus said, pulling on Percy's hand just before the younger wizard was about to Apparate away. "What's happening, Percy? And _don't_ lie to me."

"I'll tell you if you tell me where's Auror Black."

"He's taking Harry and my wife see Harry's Muggle relatives. Why?"

"You two are in danger. There, I tell you. Now give me the address of the Muggles. I'll go – "

Oliver didn't even realise the loud yell he let out when Regulus suddenly coughed out blood right onto Percy's face before dropping unceromoniously onto the ground, still coughing blood as he grasped on the spot on his chest where his heart was. Cursing under his breath, Oliver quickly helped Percy to pull Regulus onto his feet, even though he was _terrified_ of what was happening. The thought that Percy _knew_ something bad was going to happen to Regulus was seriously bothering him. It didn't take him long to figure that the only reason Percy knew about it was because his newly promoted position as the Junior Assistant to Fudge himself.

"Oliver, take him to the Manor," Percy repeated once more. "I'll go get his brother… Mr Black? Er, Regulus? Can you tell me where your brother might be?"

The seconds Regulus took to gather his strength felt like hours to Oliver, and definitely to Percy himself. Voice all raspy, the Head of the Sacred whispered, "P-Privet Driver number four… Sur…"

"Regulus? Regulus?" Percy asked, shaking the man in urgency. He quickly pressed a finger to his neck, and judging from the way his eyes widened, Oliver knew it couldn't be good.

"Go," the ginger said. "Go now, Oliver. _Now!"_

* * *

Blood.

There was _so much_ blood.

And then it was cold. _So cold._

Harry doubted he was _ever_ going to get over it.

 _("Expecto Patronum!")_

 _("Percy?")_

 _("Harry. Harry! It's Sirius! His pulse is weakening!")_

 _("Grab my hand, Harry. And hold onto to your Godfather and Mrs Black.")_

Harry was supposed to be visiting the Dursleys that day, like it had been agreed just the year before. Irina came with him too, as promised. Sirius insisted that he was the one who would take Harry and Irina there. Petunia hadn't even opened the door for them yet when suddenly, Sirius doubled over in pain and coughing out blood. Irina was barely quick enough to grab onto the man to stop him from falling flat on his face when he passed out. Harry heard Petunia screaming in terror, and Vernon cursing loudly and insisting that they had to leave immediately. But he didn't care. He felt the temperature dropped a few degrees all around him, and he saw the sky darkened. Chills ran down his spine as he realised just _what_ was happening. When the flock of Dementors all took a dive toward them, the fear they all felt attracted them like moth to a flame, Harry did the only possible thing he could do, regardless of the fact that he was in a Muggle area, and was about to do magic in front of Muggles. However, before he could utter the incantation, an unfamiliar silver-crow came flying from behind him, fighting off the Dementors with its speed and persistence. Turning around, Harry found himself face to face to none other than Percy Weasley. That was when Irina cried how critical Sirius' condition was. Without further ado, the former Head Boy told him to hold on and took them all back to the Black Manor.

The last thing Harry saw before he Disapparated away was the horrified looks on the Dursleys' face.

Back at the Manor, it was total chaos. Remus was leading a big group of Aurors out of the house, all of their wands at the ready. It was only then did Harry realise the fire burning down the forest that surrounded the premises. He heard loud voices from Regulus' room, and he nearly didn't realise when Irina past him into her room. The heartbreaking scream from Irina, which was around the same time with Marlene's own scream, who came out from Regulus' room only to find her unconscious husband, brought a realisation to Harry's mind. The fire, the sudden blood-cough… Someone had just attacked the Snow Tree, the source of magic of the Black brothers. With newfound terror, he remembered that Sirius and Regulus weren't the only Blacks in the Manor. There were _three_ other Blacks, little ones who would be in the same situation as their fathers if it hadn't been for the fact that they hadn't matured yet. He saw Oliver Wood coming toward him, and the Keeper quickly helped his friend to get Sirius into the room where Dorcas and her team of Healers were checking up on Regulus' condition. Harry wasted no time and quickly went to his room, where he knew the Black children could only be while their parents were all too busy.

His worry was confirmed when he found the three three Black children crying loudly as the House Elves that were looking after them were trying their best to cease their crying. They were all burning up, their little faces flushed red. When Payne – sweet, little Payne who would always have a special place in Harry's heart as his first sibling – saw him coming into the nursery, the toddler immediately raised her arms toward him, her face scrunched up as she cried loudly. Harry quickly told one of the Elves to get one of the Healers to tend to the kids as he went to Payne, lifting the girl into his arms.

"Hey, hey, hey…" Harry said, planting a kiss on the toddler's forehead as he checked on the rest of the kids, the other two Black children and Hero. "You'll be fine. I promise you will all better soon."

"Hurts…" Payne sobbed. "Hurts a lot…"

"I know," Harry said, replacing the towels on the Black children's foreheads. Glancing at Hero, he found that thankfully, the baby wasn't crying and merely stared at him with big green eyes.

When the door was opened, he found that it was Dorcas himself, her huge medical bag in her right hand, her green blouse was stained with blood. She didn't waste a second and immediately went to check her honorary nieces and nephew. Harry watched from where he was sitting, with Payne in his arms, how Dorcas carefully treated the Black children. It took awhile, but around half an hour later, he breathed in relief when the kids' crying began to cease. It took another half an hour for them to fall asleep. Being the oldest, Payne was the one who took the longest to sleep. Even then she shifted restlessly in Harry's arms, letting out soft moans every now and then. But at least, the kids were all finally asleep. It was all that mattered.

"Thank you for looking after them," Dorcas said, smiling tiredly as she gave a kiss on Harry's head. "You're a great big brother for them."

"It's nothing really," Harry said. Moving Payne as careful as he could onto his bed, he asked, "How are Sirius and Regulus?"

"They're…alive," Dorcas answered in a small voice, taking a seat beside Harry. She let out a huge sigh, and Harry scooted closer toward her until he could lay his head on her shoulder. For a moment, he felt like he was five instead of fifteen, and he remembered how he used to sleep with Dorcas and Remus whenever Sirius and Marlene weren't home.

"It's the Tree, isn't it? Someone destroyed the Snow Tree, and it nearly killed Padfoot and Reg."

"It's not exactly destroyed. If it was, the both of them would have…would have d- _died_." The Healer ran a trembling hand through her hair as she pulled Harry closer to her. "But they almost did, and they're _really_ hurt because of it. I don't think they'd be waking up anytime soon. Probably in a week or so. I can't say for sure."

Harry thought about how terrible it would be for _everyone_ if Sirius and Regulus didn't wake up in a week. For one, the Sacreds would be left without someone in charge of them for a week, and knowing how the Sacreds practically ruled the Ministry, he had no doubt it would end up in disaster if they were without a leader. For another, Harry didn't mean to be vain, but he _knew_ that the reason there was still some sort of order in the British wizarding world was because the Black family's power over all of the Purebloods. With both Sirius and Regulus unable to be in control, Merlin-knew what would happen. The Seeker truly didn't like the suggestions his brain gave him. They were all too horrible to accept.

"Are they _ever_ going to make a recovery though?" Harry inquired in a small voice. Dorcas took awhile to answer, her head tilted to the side as she considered her answer.

"I remember Sirius telling me that the lives of all the purebred Blacks are depended on the Tree. On the other hand, the Tree's life also depends on the Black family. In short, they live together and die together. No Tree, no Blacks. No Blacks, no Tree… So, I figure, if the Tree regrows itself, it will help the recovery of both Sirius and Regulus."

"But the Tree is _huge!_ It's almost as big as the Whomping Willow. It will take the Tree _ages,_ at least."

"That is true," Dorcas admitted, looking even more desperate. "The only way the growth will be faster than the normal rate if it's during winter. But we're in the middle of summer. So it's impos – "

Dorcas trailed off. Her eyes gradually widened as something seemed to click in her mind. Harry couldn't help himself when he felt hope filled his heart. Leaning forward, he said, "What? Do you know something? You _do_ know something, right?"

The petite Healer nodded her slowly. "Do you know that Andromeda nearly died when she gave birth to Tonks?" When Harry shook his head, Dorcas continued. "Well, she almost did. They said her womb was too… _weak,_ and the Healers did the Muggle C-section procedure to get the baby out. But, she was bleeding too much, and that was really dangerous for her."

"What happened next? Surely she didn't die."

"Of course not. But that was only because your Godfather saved her. He was only fourteen back then."

Harry frowned. "What could a fourteen year old do to sa – _oh! Did he take her to the Tree?"_

"Yes. And no. You see, Andromeda was disowned by her parents when she ran away with Ted Tonks. So there was no way Sirius could take her here, not when the property was owned by his parents, even though back then, there was only a vast area of trees here. The Black Forest, it was called."

"What did Sirius do then?"

"Inside his insignia ring, there were three seeds of the Tree. They weren't the actual seeds of the Snow Tree, just a sort of…miniature, although it was more like half the size of the real tree. Those seeds were actually the dried up flowers of the Tree. But they had the same kind of magic, even if it wasn't as strong as the magic of the actual Snow Tree. So, one morning, Sirius excused himself to Dumbledore to go visit Andromeda, and planted one seed in Andromeda's garden."

"I still don't get it," Harry said. "Even if it's a miniature, it would _still_ take a long time for the seed to grow. Unless Sirius had some kind of herbology magic with him, it all seemed pointless."

"Oh, he did. It's in his blood."

A beat, then, " _His blood?"_

Dorcas nodded. "Yep. I told you the connection between the Tree and any of the Blacks. Your Godfather happens to be the _purest_ of the Black family, seeing that his parents were still cousins. And the seed of a Snow Tree will _only_ grow after getting a few drops of Black blood. That's how the real Snow Tree first grew, because Arthfael Black used _his_ blood to grow it. You know the myth, don't you? The myth about the origins of the Black family."

"Yeah. Honestly, it's one of my favourite bedtime stories growing-up."

"Well, it's kind of true. The first ever Black, Arthfael, was raised as a fae by his mother Queen Mab, but when his father, who was one of King Arthur's knights, insisted to the Queen to return his son, she had no choice except to do so to avoid her kingdom getting attacked. But Mab didn't send his son away without giving him something to make sure he would be safe. She gave him a pure-white seed that was as big as an egg, told Arthfael to mix it with seven drops of his blood, and plant it in a land where magic was the strongest, in the middle of winter. She told him that whenever he needed her, he only had to come to the Tree and she would do everything in her power to help him through the Tree. Arthfael planted the seed in the forest where it was rumoured to be where Merlin was born, and with his father's influence, claimed the whole land to be his."

"So, are you saying…" Harry slowly began, his mind trying to process everything. "We can either take Sirius and Regulus to Andromeda's house to expose them to the magic of the Tree, _or_ we can have Andromeda to drop her blood on the our Tree to help it grow?"

"I would prefer the latter suggestion. I don't it's safe to move either Sirius or Regulus around. But yes, that's what I'm saying. Although, I have a feeling that Andromeda's blood alone won't be enough. I think we'll need Narcissa's blood as well. They're Blacks, but their blood isn't as pure as Sirius' and Regulus' blood."

"What about Draco and Tonks? Technically, they're Blacks too, right?"

"Not Draco, though. I heard he's part-Veela, from his father's side. Veela are summer creatures. His blood will be poison to the Tree. To be honest, I don't get how children of Malfoy-Black descendants are not Squibs. Their contrasting core-magic should have cancelled out each other."

"Huh. Okay then, not Draco. I think I'll go write to Tonks to – "

The door to his room was opened, and Remus came in with Percy and Oliver. The werewolf was covered in soot, and smelled of smoke. But even if he was dressed in silk robes, there was no hiding the grim look in his yellow-green eyes. Harry immediately presumed the worse, and he didn't even realise it when he leaned toward Dorcas. He was pleased when he felt the woman embraced him protectively, like a mother would to her son. It was only then did Harry notice the letter in his Percy's hand, saw the familiar Ministry seal on it.

"What is it?" Dorcas asked. Her eyes followed Harry's line of sight, and she nodded to the letter on Percy's hand. "What's in that letter?"

"I think you better explain it yourself, _Mr Weasley,_ " Remus said coolly to Percy, in a tone that Harry only ever heard once when he was arguing Regulus in Harry's third year when the younger Black tried to sneak out of the Manor to find Sirius.

Like his youngest brother, Percy blushed furiously as a signal of his shame. He glanced at Oliver, who refused to look at him, before letting out a heavy sigh and went to look at Harry. Clearing his throat, the ginger said, "This is a letter of expulsion from the Ministry for… For one Harry James Potter."

" _Expulsion?"_ Dorcas practically yelled. "Whatever for? What did my _son_ do?"

Percy once again glanced at Oliver, but the Keeper still wouldn't look back at him. Harry noticed Percy's voice broke a bit when he continued. "It's because h-he…he cast the Patronus Charm in the presence of Muggles."

"Wait, _what?_ " Harry said, utterly confused. "I didn't do that. _You_ did that. It was _your_ Patronus!"

When Oliver marched out of the room, Percy shut his eyes firmly as if the Scotts' departure physically pained him. "I… I'm just delivering the news, Harry. I don't – I'm sorry. I really am."

Before Harry could ask him what did he mean, Percy had left the room and went running after Oliver, calling out his name. Harry didn't know how long it went in silence after the two former Gryffindors left, because he was too busy trying to comprehend Percy's words. _Expulsion._ He was expelled from Hogwarts. In all his years, he never thought it would be possible for him to get expelled. It wasn't because he was too vain to think that his family's influence would save him from getting expelled. But it was more because he was pretty sure he was still remarkably behaved compared to his father and Godfathers back during their school years. He didn't even realise the two set of hands wrapped around him, and it took him awhile to realise those were Remus' and Dorcas' hands, and they were hugging him.

"What does it mean, Moony?" Harry asked. "Why did they do that?"

Remus let out a heavy sigh as he put his chin on top of Harry's forehead, like all those times he did that back when Harry was only a child and was asking why did his parents had to die. "I think it's pretty obvious why, Prongslet. This Fudge's way of making things even with Sirius."


	43. FIFTH YEAR: Chapter 2

**NOTES:** Hi guys. So, here's the long awaited chapter. To be honest, I have a love/hate relationship with this chapter. On one hand, I like how this chapter is written in Tonks' POV (who's one of my favourites to write), and how this chapter reveals a lot of stuffs mentioned in the previous chapters (you'll see). But on the other hand, I hate this chapter because it's _soooo_ all over the place and hideously lengthy. Basically, this chapter is a huge mess. But I don't have the heart to re-write everything because a part of me likes this chapter. So anyway, I hope you guys like it too. And thanks for waiting patiently for this chapter. Also, if you guys are interested, feel free to read my new story _Miracle (or the retelling of the heroes' tales)._ I won't spoil anything but the story is a bit of a crossover between the Marauders era and the Next Generation. And as usual, I haven't proof-read it because it's so late and I have an early class tomorrow. So, happy reading, everyone! :)

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Tonks didn't remember anything about Regulus Black when she was a child, except for the fact that he was her mother's cousin and Sirius' little brother. After all, her mother was disowned long before she was born. Tonks was only six when Regulus supposedly died. She remembered coming with her mother to the flat Sirius shared with his best friends, remembered how her mother let Sirius cried in her arms about how he had lost his brother. Fast forward to a few years later, when she finally met Regulus, she was all grown-up already. The man looked so much like his older brother, although Tonks had to admit that he lacked something that made him looked… _less_ than his brother. Even if he was the more reserved one between the two of them, Tonks could see that in many ways, Regulus and his brother were almost like the same person. They had the same stubborness, same temper, same charisma – _everything._ In Tonks' eyes, Sirius had always been her role model, someone that she idolised so much. However, she could say that in the couple of years she knew Regulus, the younger Black soon became another idol to her. They seemed so terrifyingly powerful in everything they did. She aspired to be someone at least half as impressive as the two brothers.

That was why the sight of both Sirius and Regulus Black lying unconscious, looking like death warmed over them, was incredibly bizarre.

"Are you sure there's nothing that I can do?" Draco asked, standing beside Harry with a serious look in his eyes. "I mean, _I'm_ a Black too. Why can't I help?"

"I'm afraid it's my fault, son," Lucius replied. "Your Veela-blood comes from me, and according to Healer Lupin, there's a chance that your Veela-blood might affect the Fae-magic poorly because they're from opposite sides."

Draco sighed and for a moment, he looked very much like a petulant child. "Why is it everything about me always about opposite sides," the blond muttered faintly. It was faint enough that Tonks was sure the only ones who heard it were Tonks and Harry, because they stood beside the blond.

"Thanks for caring about my Godfathers, Malfoy," Harry said appreciatively, patting the blond's shoulder. "It means a lot."

"Yeah, well. They're always nice to me anyway," the blond answered stiffly in the typical aloof way of the Malfoys. Harry chuckled but said nothing.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Tonks asked, looking at Remus for. "You said you needed our blood. How exactly would our blood help?"

"Your combined blood will help the Tree's growth," Remus replied. "We just need seven drops of your blood though. So, it'll be safe."

"All right. Let's do this," Narcissa said, nodding at her sister who gave her a smile.

"Well then, please follow me," Remus said to the three Black ladies. To the rest of the crowd, he said, "The rest of you, please stay here. Especially Draco and you, Lucius. As a werewolf, my senses are much more sensitive to everything, and I can already sense how your magic is affecting the magic in the premises. It won't be good if you come near the Tree."

True enough, as they walked into the forest to get to the Tree, Tonks felt the weather to cool down a great deal the closer they got to the Tree. She noticed that since the two Malfoy males arrived at the Manor, there was a shift of magic in the air. When Sirius and Regulus were around, the Malfoys' presence had almost no affect at all. But with the two Black heirs unconscious and vulnerable, the Malfoys' magic was nearly overwhelming. As a part-Black herself, Tonks could feel the Fae-magic in her blood felt almost threatened in their presence. By the time she reached the Tree, it felt like she just got out of water, her lungs seemed like they expanded to allow her to breathe more freely. She would have breathed in the air greedily if she hadn't noticed the burnt off stump of the Snow Tree. She'd only been to the Tree once, but she remembered how majestic it was with its pure-white bark and the sparkly leaves that glinted like the stars. Even though she wasn't a pure Black like the brothers, or even partially like her mother or her aunt, deep down Tonks felt how the destruction of the Tree was slowly taking a toll on her magic and health.

"Where should we…drop our blood?" Tonks asked awkwardly. She eyed her left palm for awhile before moving her gaze onto the blade in her right hand.

"Honestly? I have no idea," Remus admitted in a small voice. "I- I thought either Andromeda or Narcissa could help me with that. You know Sirius. He hates talking about his family. Regulus is no different, really."

"Us female Blacks aren't really familiar with the ancient rituals, to be honest," Andromeda began. "Learning about the rituals is something that's only for the male Blacks. But logically, we should probably drop our blood on the roots of the Tree, right?"

"That's right," Narcissa agreed. "Come on, let's try it. If it doesn't work, we can try it again. It's only for a few drops."

Remus nodded in agreement. He used his wand to dig up the ground a little bit just so the massive roots weren't covered by dirt. The werewolf then stepped aside to allow Tonks and the older two witches to come forward, all of them holding their respective blades. The Metamorphmagus took a deep breath before making a cut on her palm, cringing a little bit at the pain. She quickly closed her hand though, squeezing them tightly to urge the blood and thrust it forward until it was hovering directly above the roots. Beside her, her mother and aunt did the same thing. It didn't take long for the blood to drop, and she counted to seven before pulling her hand back so she could heal the wound. She moved back with her mother and aunt, falling to stand beside Remus as they all waited with baited breath, hoping that it would work. They waited for what seemed like ages, and Tonks thought that they'd failed, when suddenly, the stump glowed brightly in blue light. Everyone watched in fascination as the burnt spot that covered the stump began to fade away, replaced by its original pure-white colour as the Tree began to grow. What would probably take the Tree at least a year to restore back to its full glory, would now only be a few weeks instead. The four adults had to step backward to get out of the way of the Tree as the roots expanded all around, their eyes wide in excitement when they saw the Tree grew taller. Almost instantly, Tonks felt rejuvenated, especially when the sparkly leaves began to cover the branches.

She looked around and she noticed that the forest seemed to bloom along with the Tree's recovery. Tonks couldn't help herself when she let out a contented sigh at the feeling of the magic that blessed her and every Black around. If she paid attention closely, she thought she could almost hear the vague hum of the magic, as if it was just awaken from its deep slumber. Tonks only hoped that back at the Manor, it was helping that Black brothers to gain their own recovery. It was obvious that she wasn't the only who hoped so, because, before she knew it, Remus had ran past her and was already making his way back to the Manor, an eager smile on his face. They reached the Manor back in record time, and saw the two Malfoy men were going after Harry into the room where Sirius and Regulus were. The two Mrs Blacks and Dorcas were already in the room, and judging from their beaming smile, Tonks knew that they'd done it. She turned to look at the two older-brother figures in her life, and was pleased to find that their pale faces were now back to their normal colour and were glowing in their newly restored health.

"It's working!" Marlene exclaimed as she turned to hug Irina. "You three did it! Oh, thank you!"

"It's not a problem, really," Andromeda said, smiling at her cousins' wives.

"But why aren't they waking up already?" Harry inquired, eyeing the two brothers closely. "I mean, technically, they're fine now, right?"

"Harry, the normal human body takes time to recover," Dorcas explained patiently. "Even as wizards, with the help of magic, it would still take sometime for Sirius and Regulus to recover completely. They almost… _died,_ remember?"

"Oh yeah, right," Harry muttered, looking a tad bit embarrassed but was still glowing in happiness.

"Lucius, love, are you all right?" Narcissa said to her husband, earning everyone's attention. The blond Pureblood was leaning on the wall behind him, giving them all the impression that he needed help to support his weight. Beside him, Tonks noticed that Draco didn't look so good either.

"It's the Winter magic," Lucius explained, his voice low and a little raspy. "The Tree's newly restored health makes the magic three times more powerful that it usually is. It's fighting our core-magic. Veelas are summer creatures, remember?"

"Oh, do you two need to lie down for a bit?" Irina asked, her question catching Lucius off his guard.

But the Pureblood recovered from his shock quickly and said, "Thank you very much, Mrs Black. But I think it's better for Draco and I to head back home. Staying here for any longer won't be really good for the both of us."

"Do you want me to come with you two?" Narcissa said, looking incredibly worried for her husband and son. "I mean, you two will have to rest _and_ look after Lyra too."

"Cissy, we'll be fine. No, you stay here with your sister. Catch up on the gossip," Lucius said, winking at the blonde witch. "And Lyra's a big girl now. We no longer need to treat her like a baby."

"Alright then," Narcissa replied, looking pleased as she gave both her husband and son a quick peck on their cheeks. "Promise me that you'll send for me if you need anything, though."

"Promise, Mother," Draco said.

"I guess I'll head back too," Tonks said not long after the Malfoy men left. "Charlie went to visit Madam Bagshot this morning to ask for her help for our assignment. He should be back now, I think. I promised we'd look into what he found together."

"Oh, okay," Marlene said. With a smile, she gave Tonks a tight hug and said, "Once again, thank you very much for your help."

"And like my mother just said; it's no problem," Tonks replied. "I really care for Sirius and Regulus. It pains me to see them like this. I'm glad I could do something to help them. Just be sure to tell me as soon as possible once they're awake."

"Of course," Irina said when Tonks turned to hug her. "If I have to, I'll go get you myself."

"I can take you there," Remus offered jokingly, his whole composure beaming.

"Me too," Harry quipped.

"Awesome… Well, I'll go now. And oh, Mum? Charlie wanted you and Dad to come around tomorrow. He wanted us to have dinner together, the four of us."

"Sure. I'll tell your father about it, make sure he's free tomorrow night," Androme said, giving her daughter a peck on her forehead. "Tell Charlie I said hi, okay?"

Tonks promised she'd pass it on to her boyfriend, and went back to the house she shared with Charlie via the Manor's Fireplace. She heard noises from the kitchen, and a smile began to grow when she realised that Charlie was probably preparing for their lunch. Her smile widened when she saw the ginger waving his wand around to make what looked like the Muggle cuisine macaroni and cheese, his back turned toward her as he focused on his work. There was a Muggle tape on the counter not far from him, the song _Somebody to Love_ by the Muggle band Queen was playing. When Charlie was singing along with Freddy Mercury, and even did some dance moves, Tonks couldn't help herself when she let out a giggle. Upon hearing her voice, Charlie whipped around, his face blushing a shade darker than his hair. Unfortunately for him, it only made Tonks laughed harder as she went toward him to greet him with a kiss, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you _do_ have a good voice? And that butt-shaking move is just jaw-droppping," Tonks said with a mischievous grin.

"I'm glad that you enjoy my disastrous performance," Charlie replied, chuckling. "I suppose I should thank you for introducing me to this wonderful band. And the Beatles too. Those Muggles are amazing when it comes to music."

"Well, you should thank Sirius as well. He's the one who introduced me to Beatles and Queen. Despite being one of the most Pureblooded wizard there is, he knows quite a lot of great Muggle musicians. Even my father, who's a Muggle-born, admits that. Mum said it was Harry's mother who told Sirius all the Muggles musicians."

"Harry's mum certainly had a great taste. I like that band Genesis too."

"Me too. She certainly had an amazing taste. And she had a great taste in movies too. You remember that time when I brought you some of Lily's old collection from Sirius? He said her favourite was _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest._ I think if she was alive today, she'd have loved that movie _The Silence of the Lambs._ "

"Honestly, I'd love to meet her. She seemed like a great person." Charlie didn't even miss a beat when he continued, as he served Tonks a plate of the macaroni and cheese. "In fact, if I could go back in time, I'd love to meet Harry's parents and Sirius and Remus back in the old days."

"Of course, you would. And this tastes great, by the way. Thanks, love."

Charlie smiled and began to eat himself. There was a couple of minutes of silence as the couple ate, although it didn't last very long. Charlie was the one who broke it, once he'd swallowed the macaroni in his mouth. "Speaking of Sirius and his friends, how is he and Regulus? Did it work?"

"It did, thank Merlin!" Tonks replied. "They aren't awake yet, but from the looks of it, they're better now. And you know what? Although I know that we're related to the Fae, I'd never really known much about it. I used to think it was only a myth, you know? But when we restored the Tree, I actually felt so much better than I usually was."

"That's interesting… What about the Malfoys? I mean, since they're part Veela, I would assume that they'd get affected."

"Oh, they were. Both Lucius and Draco had to go home earlier because they didn't feel so good, especially Lucius. I was worried they were going to collapse on their feet. They looked so pale, even more than they usually were. If you ask me, I think it's terrifying how these supposedly great Pureblooded wizards could easily be defeated because their one advantage as part-fae also happens to be their disadvantage."

Charlie was quiet for awhile before he spoke again. "How much do you know about the Blacks and Malfoys relations to the Faes?"

Tilting her head to the side as she considered her answer, Tonks said, "To be honest, I don't know much. I told this to Remus today, but female Blacks aren't supposed to know much about the family history and all that. I personally think it's unfair that we women aren't treated equally as the men."

"I see… Well, that's kind of a bummer, because what I found from Bathilda today has a _huge_ connection to the Blacks and Malfoys. And before you ask me what, I suggest we finish lunch quick so we can talk about it our room. I have all the information there, and we can read them together as we discuss."

Tonks pouted at Charlie, to which the ginger gave a wink as a respond. But she obliged, quickly finishing her lunch silently. It was about half an hour later, once they were done eating and cleaning up the dishes, when they sat on their bed, surrounded by all the notes they'd gathered about the Viviane Stone and the Deathly Hallows. Since their last visit to Bathilda Bagshot almost a year before, with Sirius and Remus, Charlie himself had gone to the historian almost weekly. When they left abruptly that day from the woman's house, the two Aurors dragged Tonks and Charlie to see Dumbledore to talk about the Hallows. For as long as she could remember, Tonks had only seen unfailing loyalty from Sirius and Remus toward Dumbledore. But that day, when the two of them asked the old man about what he knew about Harry's relation to the Hallows, the both of them looked positively livid, especially Sirius. The two senior Aurors seemingly had forgotten about Tonks and Charlie as they pushed Dumbledore into telling them the truth, living the young couple sitting uncomfortably in silence in their seats, watching the older wizards arguing.

"You had the Cloak with you the night James and Lily died," Sirius said that day, his temper rising. "I never thought much about why would you need to inspect it, if you thought all the pranks we did with the help of the Cloak to be hilarious. But I know the truth now. You _wanted_ to pursue your old dream, didn't you? Conquering Death by being in possession of the _two_ Hallows."

"You defeated Grindewald, who was known to be the last wielder of the Elder Wand," Remus added. The usually calm werewolf seemed to be losing his control as well, his green eyes flashing yellow for a split second. "So that means you've had the wand since forever, since that day you defeated Grindewald. And when James showed you the Cloak, you decided to _borrow_ from him, even though you knew Voldemort was hunting James and his family."

"You selfish bastard," Sirius snarled, the look of disgust crossed his face. "It turns out you're _just_ as power-hungry as your best friend. If you hadn't taken Cloak, James and Lily would be _alive!_ "

One of Dumbledore's many trinkets exploded when Sirius screamed his last word, as a result of his outburst. Tonks let out a small squeak at the sound, and she was sure that Charlie did as well. Even Fawkes the Phoenix started to flap her wings restlessly, her beady-eyes watching the three older wizards warily. The room was entirely silent as they all waited for Dumbledore to speak. The old man had been silent since the time the four of them came into his office, sitting on his seat quietly as he rather impassively listened to Sirius and Remus yelling at him. It felt like hours had passed when Dumbledore sighed, lowering his head in what almost seemed like shame as he pinched the bridge of his broke nose tiredly. Right at that moment, it was the first time Tonks ever realised just how _old_ Dumbledore really was. He even seemed to have aged about another decade when he looked back at Sirius and Remus.

"You have no idea how I've spent the last _fourteen years_ wallowing in guilt and shame for that moment of weakness," Dumbledore began in a small voice, and for a second, he looked like a lost little boy who was looking for comfort. "You were right. You two were _absolutely_ right. And I know no matter what I said would change the past, but for what it's worth, I am _sorry._ I truly am. You see, after everything I've done, everything I've seen, I'm still none the wiser. After all these years, it seems power will always be my biggest weakness."

"Explain it to us," Sirius said, his voice sounded shaky with barely repressed emotion. "Explain everything you've got to do with Grindewald and the Hallows. And I _beg_ you, convince me that all this time, I wasn't following the orders of a power-hungry man who couldn't move on from his past."

Dumbledore smiled sadly when he said, "I promise, I'll try my best."

The moment the old man started to speak, there was no stopping him. He started with his family; of his sister Ariana who was attacked by Muggles to the point of insanity, of his father Percival who attacked the Muggles in return and be imprisoned in Azkaban for it, of his mother Kendra who was killed by Ariana's accidental magic, of his brother Aberforth who hated him and blamed him for the fate of their family. Dumbledore looked extremely embarrassed when he told them about his relationship with Grindewald, about how his… _fondness_ of the other wizard resulted in his blindness to see that Grindewald wasn't a good person. He admitted that deep down, he knew what kind of man Grindewald was, but he was just so fascinated by him, by his incredible intelligence that was beyond compare. When he reached the part where he challenged Grindewald before he caused more damage to the world, after he'd told them about his sister's death, Tonks felt like she was seeing another person. The Dumbledore she knew, the one she grew up thinking to be almost God-like, turned to be nowhere as perfect as she always believed him to be.

"So, I defeated Grindewald, and put him in Numengard because I didn't trust myself that I wouldn't come to visit him if he were in Azkaban instead," Dumbledore said. "In return, I finally had his wand – _the_ Elder Wand that I'd been looking for since I was only eighteen. Honestly, when I first held the wand, I was _terrified._ I was worried that I would be consumed with the thirst for power at the thought that _finally,_ I managed to get the Wand. But much to my own surprise, I only felt _relieved_ that I'd saved everyone else. The sense of relief changed into the need to be good, to tame the Wand so no one else would be hurt because of it. And that's exactly what I've been doing for the past six decades."

Dumbledore then moved on to explaining about why did he have the Cloak with him the night the Potters died. He said that just a few weeks before the couple died, Dumbledore went to visit them one last time to discuss about their plans to leave the country. Dumbledore was a little skeptic at first, that the young man could pull off the greatest escape with his young wife and their newborn son. But then James showed him the Cloak, and said that he could hide Harry under the Cloak while he and Lily would be disguised under a heavy Glamour Charm. Dumbledore shamefully admitted that he almost stopped listening right then and there, his whole attention was set solely on the Cloak in James' hands. That was when the greed consumed him, and before he knew it, he asked James whether he could borrow it.

"And of course, James gave it to you," Sirius snapped, interrupting the old man. "He _trusted_ you. Like all of us. And you betrayed him."

Dumbledore said nothing to Sirius' accusation, and Sirius took it as a turn to yell some more at the aging wizard. But as she listened quietly to her mother's cousin's tirade, Tonks slowly realised that even though it _was_ Dumbledore's fault for borrowing the Cloak, she knew that it wouldn't stop Voldemort from killing James and Lily Potter. Pettigrew had probably already sold the couple to Voldemort to save his stinking skin, and if her maths were right, seeing that James told Dumbledore about the Cloak just days prior to his death, they wouldn't have made it anyway. There was not enough time. And when Tonks, much to everyone's surprise, explained it to the two Aurors, only then did Sirius and Remus finally stopped talking, their faces were unreadable as they listened to her. It was obvious that the two Aurors wouldn't just accept her explanation in Dumbledore's defence, but it was actually Dumbledore himself who countered her argument.

"You're so kind, my dear," Dumbledore said. "Sirius and Remus were right, though. I made a mistake, and it cost us the lives of two _great_ people who didn't deserve to die. My ambition, my fear of Death, my… _vision_ of living a better world, it cost us the lives of James and Lily Potter. I am not much different than Grindewald or Voldemort after all."

"That's not true," Charlie said, making a sound for the first time. "There _is_ a difference between you and Grindewald or Voldemort. A huge, significant difference."

"I'm sorry. I beg you pardon?" Dumbledore said, looking entirely caught off guard.

Charlie shrugged, but Tonks could see that he was a big nervous. "It's obvious, isn't it? The difference between you and them, is that you _changed._ You realised you were wrong, and you were ashamed for it. And then you changed, for the better. You stopped Grindewald, and now you're trying all your best to stop Voldemort. I think this is enough proof that you're different than them."

With that, Sirius and Remus dropped all of their hostility. True, they didn't immediately seem to trust Dumbledore wholeheartedly like they used to. But at least they were willing to accept that Dumbledore wasn't a _bad_ person. Tonks took it as a chance to change the subject, asking the Headmaster about what the Viviane Stone. It took Dumbledore awhile to answer, because it seemed like he was still in shock over the fact that Charlie had defended him. But he quickly gathered his wits again, and explained that because his and Grindewald's priority back then was to find the Hallows, he hadn't had much chance to research more about the Stone. Then so many things happened after Ariana's death, and he lost all his desire to find out about the Stone, fearing that he'd make the same mistake twice. Tonks could definitely understand it. If she were Dumbledore, and her obsession toward a powerful artefact became the reason why her sibling had died, she also would steer from every single powerful artefact she found.

"So you don't know anything about the Viviane Stone?" Remus asked flatly, his tone clearly suggested that it would take him, and Sirius, sometime to fully trust the old man again. Judging from the look on Dumbledore's face, he was entirely okay with it.

"I'm afraid I don't know much. What I do know is that the Stone was originally a lot bigger. It was broke down into two parts. The first part had the ability to enhance someone's power, while the second part had the ability to protect the wearer from all kinds of danger. I read that the first part of the Stone was buried with Merlin when he died, while the Lady of the Lake kept the other half. You know, quite contrary to popular belief, Merlin and Viviane were lovers, and their love led to a girl whose name was never written in history books. And So, Viviane passed down the Stone to her daughter, who then passed it on to her own daughter, and so on for many generations of a family with a history of renown Seers."

At this point, Dumbledore stopped to glance at Sirius, who was gaping at him. Clenching his jaw, the Pureblood then said, "Are you saying that while Chuck here has the part that was supposed to be buried with Merlin, the other part has a huge possibility of being in the possession of a _child_?"

"Well, if her mother followed the tradition, and the girl keeps it with her after all this time, then yes. I believe that she has the other part of the Stone."

"Hold on for a second," Charlie said. "What are you talking about? Who has the other part of the Stone? A child? She? Who is this kid?"

It was Remus who answered him instead, sharing a look of disbelief with his best friend.

"It's Luna Lovegood. She's the descendant of Merlin and the Lady of the Lake."

Ever since then, they all agreed to pay extra attention to the Lovegood girl. It became a lot easier once Charlie revealed that the girl was best friends with his sister Ginny. The blonde had an unsual friendship with Ginny and the young Greengrass girl. The three of them were so different from one another, but according to Charlie's story, they were all very close. The former dragonologist tried to find out from his sister whether Luna ever wore a necklace or something. With a laugh, Ginny explained that Luna wore at least five different necklaces on a daily basis because she believed they could ward off some weird creatures her father told her. It wasn't until that night of the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, when Cedric Diggory came out of the Maze with Harry the night of Voldemort's return, that Tonks and Charlie found out that Luna _did_ have the second half of the Viviane Stone with her. According to Harry, Cedric was wearing a medallion the whole time during the Third Task. Sirius himself then told them that, when he went to visit Cedric to ask him some questions about Voldemort, the medallion the Head Boy was wearing was none other the Viviane Stone, with Rune-engraved gold circling it like a halo.

"Did you tell Professor Bagshot that you and Luna have both parts of the Stone?" Tonks asked Charlie after she was done reading his notes.

"Of course not. Moody said he'd have my head if anyone else knew about the Stone," Charlie drawled, cringing at the thought of Moody hexing him for blabbing. "Besides, the woman was speaking nonstop about the Lady of the Lake, I barely had enough time to talk. I think it's been a long time since someone was willing to listen to her spewing out her extensive knowledge."

Tonks hummed, pitying the old woman who probably had lived decades alone. "What did you find out from her then?"

"Well, do you know that the Lady of the Lake was the first ever recorded Veela in history? In fact, she was probably one of the firsts in the world. It was said that her Veela-blood was so pure, she could transform into a bird – a halcyon – instead of a harpy like all the Veela do."

"So, what you're saying is, Luna Lovegood is partly Veela too? Like Draco?"

"From her mother's side, yes… Now that you mention it, it should have been obvious that they both have the same ancesstor. I don't know about other countries, but Madam Bagshot said that for British or French wizards and witches, almost eighty-percent of the blond ones are descendants of Veela, especially the Pureblooded ones."

"That's interesting…" Tonks thought of Narcissa and her blond hair, and made a note on one of her book to ask her mother whether Grandma Black had any Veela descendants. If that was the case, it could be the reason why Draco's magic didn't cancel out each other despite the Veela and Fae magic he had. "Right. What else did you find?"

Charlie's expression dimmed as he pushed a ripped parchment into her hand, which looked so _old_ that Tonks feared it would crumple to dust. "This page is almost two thousand years old. It's the page that Merlin himself wrote on when he made the Stone with Viviane. You can see it's written in Old English, but the Professor had translated it so we can read it."

Tonks looked down at the parchement to read the translation of the notes Merlin made. Frowning, she said. "Merlin originally wanted to _destory_ the Stone? Why did he make it in the first place if he thought the Stone would bring danger instead?"

"Because of Morgan. She wanted the Stone to defeat Arthur. With both parts of the Stone, she could do practically anything. And that's why people like Grindewald and Voldemort can _never_ have it."

"But…" Tonks trailed off, reading the rest of the note, which brought chills down her spine. "If…if anything happens to either parts of the Stone, it will _kill_ anyone who's been touched by the magic of the Stone! _It's said here!_ If we destroy it, as per Merlin's original intention before he died, it will – "

"Kill Cedric Diggory," Charlie said grimly. "So we have no choice but to hide it. The other half is pretty well-hidden already. As long as Luna and Cedric keep quiet about the medallion, I think it's be fine."

"That leaves us with the one you have," Tonks said, eyeing the Stone that's currently sitting on their bedside, glowing luminiously. Shrugging, she then said, "Well, we'll think about that later. I'm sure we can always ask Sirius whether he can fit the Stone in one of his many vaults in Gringotts. If he can fit that gigantic Samoan artefact in his vault, I'm sure he can – "

Tonks stopped, her eyes widened as she pictured a particular object she'd seen once in the Black main family vault, the one that her mother shared with her cousins. She was only ninteen, and it was just a few months before she left with Sirius to rescue Charlie. She was tagging along with the Animagus Auror, who went there to store an object, which was Dumbledore's order. She only took a glance at it, but even then, she was incredibly affected by the object. Or rather, by what she'd _seen_ on the object. Tonks had only ever heard about the Mirror of Erised before, and she never thought much about it. But even before Sirius warned her about the dangers of the Mirror, one look at the image she saw on the Mirror, she realised what it would do to her mental health if she were to dwell on what she saw for more than just a quick glance. But the vision – her _desire –_ that was reflected on the Mirror, gave her an idea about what they could do to hide the other half of the Viviane Stone.

 _(There she was. Wearing a beatiful white gown that once belonged to her mother, something she wouldn't have dreamt of ever doing. Her parents were standing behind her, both of them were beaming up at her, extremely proud and happy for her. There were also Sirius and his family, the Animagus sending her a mischievous wink as he mouthed his well-wishes. But if she was to be honest, her attention was set solely on the tattooed, redheaded bad-boy standing beside her, who looked like a real-life Prince Charming as he slipped a ring around her finger.)_

"...you okay, love? Tonks?" Charlie called out in worry, snapping her off her reverie.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tonk said, blinking her eyes rapidly to focus her thoughts. "I just… I had something on my mind."

"Really? What did you think about?"

Instead of answering, Tonks leaned to the side and reached for the Viviane. She vaguely registered Charlie asking her what she was doing, but she ignored him as she took off the hair-clip her father gifted her for her eighteenth birthday, and Transformed it into a simple ring. So focused she was on her task that she didn't realise Charlie had finally stopped talking, silently watching her casting a spell to Stick the huge Stone onto the ring. A smile began to tug on the corners of her lips as she eyed the result of her work.

"Darling, what are you – "

"Charlie, do you still love me?" Tonks cut him off, catching him off guard.

"What kind of question is – "

"Just answer me, babe. _Please._ "

Charlie was still frowning, but they both knew he could never deny her anything. "Of course I do. I told you I love you, Tonks. Till I die, remember? I'm yours. Heart, body, mind and soul."

Tonks' smile grew bigger as she blinked her tears away. "Well then, Charles Weasley, will you marry me and make an honest woman out of me?"

The Metamorphmagus was expecting the ginger to be surprised. But Charlie didn't even miss a beat when he said, _"_ No _._ "

 _"Excuse me?"_ Tonks almost yelled, highly offended.

Shrugging, Charlie said, "You're not on your knees, babe. If you're going to propose to me, I want to say yes to a proper proposal from the woman I love."

"You bastard," Tonks laughed, getting off the bed so she could get down on one knee. She was grinning so wide by then, she thought her face would split. "There. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," Charlie chuckled, giving her a wink.

But even before Tonks could do her proposal once again, Charlie had pulled her into her arms and kissed her deeply until they both fell back on the bed with her positioned on top of him, straddling him by the waist. Letting out a giggle, Tonks said, "So, what do you say, Mr Weasley?"

"Darling, I thought you'd never ask," Charlie said as he kissed her again, prompting another giggle from the Metamorphmagus. "You know how much I've loved you, since I was only thirteen and you were only twelve. _Of course_ , I'll marry you. It's why I invited your parents for dinner tomorrow. I wanted to ask for you father's permission. But so bloody _typical_ of you to beat me to it. I expect you to go to the Burrow for lunch tomorrow and ask _my_ father to marry me."

"Consider it done," Tonks said. "Now shut up and show me just how much you love me."

And boy, he did a _remarkable_ job proving it to her.


	44. FIFTH YEAR: Chapter 3

**NOTES:** HI! *hides from hexes and jinxes* First of all, I'd like to say that I MISSED YOU ALL! *sends virtual hugs to all of you* Wow, it's been ages since I last updated. I'm incredibly sorry about that. You see, my phone broke a couple months ago, and I lost all the files regarding this story (the planning, the drafts, etc). That's why it took me AGES to update. But, here I am. With a new and long chapter for all of you. Tell me what you think about this chapter, okay? I personally find this chapter really fun to write, even though I realise this is like a filler-chapter. But, that's me. You guys have your own opinion - that I would _love_ to know. Just promise me, no flame, okay? And oh, please write my Blackinnon one-shot! The title is _Toes in the Sand,_ and it's an AU. I really hope you'll like that one, and this chapter too. Alright then, I'll end it here. As usual, I'm too lazy to proof-read this chapter. I'm thinking of doing it later, once I'm done with the whole story. I get distracted so easily, you see. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THAT. This is it. I'm shutting up now hahaha. Happy reading, guys! :)

* * *

"If you set _one foot_ out of this room, I swear to God, Regulus Arcturus Black, you can go sleep in your studio _for a month_!"

"Why is it that my brother is allowed to join the party and not me? _It's unfair!_ "

"Says who? Pretty sure Marlene has Sirius locked in their room until next year. For God's sake, Reg; you _just_ woke up thirty-six hours ago, after being unconscious for nearly _two months_. I'm sure Harry will understand that you – "

"MY GODSON WAS NEARLY EXPELLED, AND JUST WON A TRIAL AGAINST THE WHOLE WIZENGAMOT, AND YOU'RE TELLING ME I _CAN'T_ BE THERE FOR A PARTY THAT _I_ THROW FOR HIM? WOMAN, YOU'RE BEING ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS."

"OH, THAT'S RICH, MR HEROIC AUROR. AS IF YOU DIDN'T JUST SPEND TWO MONTHS FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE. MERLIN, IF YOU GET OFF THIS BED, YOU'RE _NEVER_ GETTING ON IT EVER AGAIN!"

" _MARLENE!_ THAT'S JUST- _REGULUS, BACK ME UP HERE!_ I KNOW YOU'RE LISTENING, BROTHER! TELL OUR _WIVES_ THAT THEY'RE CRAZY!"

 _"CRAZY?_ YOU'RE CALLING ME AND YOUR WIFE CRAZY, SIRIUS? _THAT'S IT!_ I DON'T CARE THAT YOU'RE OVER SIX FEET TALL, THAT YOU'RE POSSIBLY ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL WIZARDS IN ALL OF EUROPE. _I DON'T CARE!_ I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU HOW WE SETTLE THINGS THE _MUGGLE_ WAY, YOU JERK!"

" _YES, IRINA!_ SHOW HIM HOW IT'S DONE, GIRL!"

Harry sighed heavily as he shut the door to the nursery behind him, where his siblings and cousin were being entertained by Ginny with all his old Quidditch figurines. Upon his entrance, the ginger offered him a small smile as she patted the spot next to her for him, obviously having heard the commotion. It was impossible not to after all, with the way the two Black brothers were yelling with their wives. Harry was entirely convinced that they could be heard across the country. The Seeker himself was having conflicted thoughts about it. With the decision that he _didn't_ get expelled after all, thanks to Amelia Bones, a part of Harry wished that Sirius and Regulus would be there with him to celebrate it together. But the other part of him, the logical part that would gladly sacrifice his happiness to save his family, preferred that the brothers were locked in a room together while being watched by the most competent Healers in the country, and also being hand-fed all kinds of medicine and healthy food to make sure that they recovered properly. He knew he couldn't have both though, so he said nothing and tried to cheer himself up. If only the two Black couples would just stop yelling at each other, it'd be more than enough for Harry.

Being Harry's Godmother, though she was a member of the Wizengamot, Marlene wasn't allowed to attend the trial. Fortunately, she was generally liked by nearly everyone, and she had Amelia Bones promising her that the older witch would make sure that Harry got the trial he deserved. Remus took Harry to his trial, although he had to wait outside because Fudge was cunning like that and wouldn't allow the slightest bit of moral support for Harry. The only people he had on his side was Dumbledore, and the Dursleys' neighbour called Arabella Figg, who was a Squib that was assigned to watch over the Dursleys. Harry tried to stop himself from throwing his shoe at Percy when the tall ginger took his seat indifferently, never acknowledging Harry or the fact that _he_ was the one who produced the Patronus Charm. Fortunately, Dumbledore and Mrs Figg gave pretty compelling arguments, and with the help of Madam Bones' influence, they pulled back the charges on him. Harry couldn't help the small grin that appeared on his face when he saw the look Fudge had. The Prime Minister looked positively enraged, his face turned purple as if he just swallowed a frog. Harry's day improved greatly when he got home and found that both Sirius and Regulus were awake. The rest of the family filled them in on what happened during the time they were unconscious, to which the brothers listened with identical murderous looks on their faces when they realised it was all Fudge's doing.

Sirius tried to hide his anger though, and told Marlene to prepare a party to celebrate both Harry's birthday and his 'victory' upon defeating Fudge in his own game. A lot of their friends and family were invited – such as the Tonks, the Weasleys, the Malfoys, Hermione and Neville. The Lovegoods and the Diggorys were even invited as well, although both of them hadn't said anything about whether they were coming or not. All of the House-Elves rejoiced over the prospect of holding a party after the long somber mood. The first to respond was Tonks and her parents plus Charlie, who said that they'd be there by dinner, and with news to announce to everyone else. The Malfoys' and the Weasleys' owls came around the same time, both saying that they'd arrive around dinner as well. The rest of the guests gave the same respond, all of them were eager to celebrate the joyous occasion together, especially when they found out the Black brothers were awake. However, the Manor's happy atmosphere was cut-short when Regulus started to cough out blood during lunch time, which led Irina to believe that even though they'd waken up, there was still a lot of healing to be done for the brothers. This was only confirmed when they saw how Sirius pushed back a cough, swallowing heavily as he discreetly wiped the corners of mouth, where they could see tiny drops of blood. Marlene then made the decision that the two Black brothers could only join the dinner, and then they both had to go back to their resting, which meant they'd have to miss the rest of the party. Of course, the brothers argued about it vehemently.

The Lupins hastily escaped both couples to avoid getting roped into the argumentation, saying that they had to watch over the preparation of the party. Harry quickly followed after them, knowing that with Remus and Dorcas away, he'd have to be the one to play referee for the couples. He was lucky that just at that moment, he heard Dorcas opening the door to their first guest. It was Ginny, who came with her father. The young girl was dropped off at the Manor because Percy was having a screaming match with _all_ of his brothers about Harry's trial, with Ron also doing the job of consoling a sobbing Molly as he too yelled at his older brother – and Arthur, wise man that he always was, would prefer that his youngest didn't have to hear the foul words her brothers threw at each other. Harry was more than glad that he had a company, knowing that his Godparents would all be too busy with the party. They agreed to babysit the children as well while the adults did their work, and Harry marvelled how the Black children and Hero took an immediate liking toward the ginger. He knew for a fact how the children cried _loudly_ at Hermione the first time they met her. The fact that she got along really well with the children just earned Ginny brownie points in Harry's eyes.

Harry also noticed that Ginny was _a lot_ more confident than she was the previous year. The girl no longer blushed at the sight of him, and was even making conversations before Harry could even think of a topic. He weirdly noticed that he preferred her hair falling naturally down her back instead of tied up in the braid she was sporting, even though Harry had to admit that with her hair braided, he could see her face so much better, he could almost count the freckles that dusted her cheeks. It was with that thought in mind that Harry finally stopped staring at the ginger, blushing furiously as he imagined what Ron would do to him if he ever found out how Harry stared at his little sister. It was partly why Harry decided to leave the children with Ginny for awhile to grab for some snacks, fearing that Ginny noticed the blush he had on his face. It was a mistake though. The moment he exited the nursery, he instantly heard the loud yelling from the Black couples, who apparently had moved their argumentation to their rooms respectively. He saw it was already three in the afternoon, and Harry hoped that by the time the other guests started to arrive, the couples would settle their argumentation already.

"I didn't know Miss Irina could scream like that," Ginny said offhandedly as she gently pulled one of the figurines out of Hero's mouth and replaced it with a cookie.

"Oh, you have no idea," Harry chuckled, remembering the first time he heard Irina yelled at her husband when the man took little Astrid flying _in late November._ Everyone thought Regulus had just dropped the girl from the way Irina yelled at him. "Honestly, she could out-cuss Sirius when she was pissed off. The woman may be tiny, but when given enough provocation, she can make both her husband and brother-in-law shrink in fear."

Ginny laughed along with Harry, probably picturing the former nurse yelling at the two towering Purebloods cowering. "I always thought the woman was like Healer Lupin, you know? But it seems, I was wrong. I think she's the perfect combination of both your Godmothers."

"That's true. It was probably why Sirius got along really well and really soon with Irina. According to Marlene, Irina is a lot like my mother was in many ways. Regulus also said that it was only because she was still a little bit wary of magic that she became reserved, when originally she was very bossy. And it was common knowledge that Sirius and my mother had a really strong bond that came from their desire to be a better siblings. Lily found an older sibling to look up to while Sirius found a younger sibling to baby."

"So, you're saying that Irina is a lot like the late Lily Potter? That's interesting."

"It is. And now that I think about it, I think I've heard Remus talking to Dorcas and Marlene about how _Regulus_ reminded him a lot of my father. I know it's hard to believe, but as the oldest between all of the Marauders, who also had a younger brother, Sirius was actually the Mother Hen in the group. He fussed over _everyone_ , even when he didn't realise that he was doing so. And James, who grew up as the center of attention, being an only child, lapped all the attention Sirius gave him, who saw James as his second chance to be an older brother."

"When you put it that way, it does make a lot of sense," Ginny agreed. "Don't you think it's funny how Regulus resembles James a lot, and now he's married to a woman who resembles Lily?"

"Kind of," Harry admitted. "And I guess that's why Sirius is super protective of Regulus and Irina. Especially Regulus. I bet he doesn't realise it, but during the Sacred meetings, whenever someone got a bit too… _aggressive_ towards Regulus, Sirius would move closer towards his brother in a protective and threatening gesture."

"Hmm… Looks like you've been to a lot of the _supposedly_ secret, Sacred meetings." There was a small smirk on Ginny's face, and Harry couldn't help himself from grinning sheepishly.

"Well, that's what you get when you grew up with my sneaky Godfathers," Harry chuckled. "You wouldn't believe how many times Sirius and Remus gave me tips on how to break Hogwarts rules without getting caught."

"Merlin, I could only imagine if it were Fred and George instead who grew up with your Godfathers. They'd be uncontrollable."

The both of them were sharing a laugh when the door to the nursery was opened, revealing Dorcas with Draco Malfoy and Theo Nott, the former was carrying a giggling Lyra on his shoulders. Malfoy had asked him whether he could bring Nott along, who stayed over in his house for the summer because his father was in Azkaban for his participation at Voldemort's resurrection, and his mother had gone to see family to escape the reporters. Knowing how close Malfoy and Nott were, Harry understood that there was no way Malfoy would leave his friend behind, even if Harry said no. That was why he said yes, though it didn't change the fact that Nott's presence did feel a bit weird when they barely talked to each other before. Harry noticed that upon seeing him and Ginny together, Malfoy had an annoying smirk as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, while the git's blue-eyed best friend look a little out of place. Harry scowled in return, giving Malfoy the middle finger when Dorcas turned to pick her son up from Ginny's lap. Letting out a small chuckle, Malfoy then lowered his sister to the ground. The little girl squealed in excitement as she waved at Payne and Astrid, with whom she shared a close relationship with, ever since they first met.

"Payne! Astrid!" Lyra yelled, running toward the older girls. "Draco says is Harry's party! And I get to wear my new pretty dress! Look!"

The blonde twirled around, showing off her sparkly pink dress. Payne, the more reserved one of the two Black girls, clapped her hands in excitement. Her cousin Astrid, on the other hand, exclaimed, "It's _soooo_ pretty! And it's _pink!_ It's Mummy's favourite colour!"

"It's Uncle Reg's favourite colour too," Payne reminded her cousin quietly. "I heard him told Auntie Riri that he liked to see pink on her. Especially if it's her lon…long…" Frowning in a way that made her looked incredibly like her father, she continued. "I don't know how to say the word. But Auntie Riri blushed and then hit Uncle Reg on the arm after that."

"Oh, I think I know _exactly_ what that word is," Malfoy said cheekily, grinning from ear to ear. "Pretty sure it's called _lingerie._ Spelled L-I-N-G-E-R-I-E."

"Yes, that's it!" Payne exclaimed, grinning as she bobbed her head up and down. "What is it though, Draco? What does that mean?"

"It's something that adult Muggle women – "

"Draco Malfoy, if you finish that sentence, I'm going to tell your mother about this so you'll get grounded for the rest of your _life_ ," Dorcas warned, glaring at the Slytherin. "To be honest, with who your parents are, I'm surprised that you even know what that is."

"Healer Lupin, I'm a _teenage boy,_ " Malfoy said matter-of-factly, earning a snort of laughter from Nott. "When it involves _that,_ even if it's something Muggle-related, we have the tendency to know about it. You can check with your Godson about it."

Harry shrugged in embarrassment when Dorcas turned to look a him. The Healer shook her head in exasperation in return. "I don't even want to know how you found out about it, Harry."

"You'd be surprised at what us teeenage boys have found in our spare time. Right, Theo?"

"I refuse to comment," Nott said flatly, though Harry could see he was holding back a grin.

"Malfoy, stop talking," Harry snapped, feeling his face flushed red when he heard Ginny let out a giggle, only then remembering that the redhead was there.

"I am _so_ asking my brother about this," Ginny said, looking mischievous. "This is blackmail material!"

"I'm going back to check the Elves' work," Dorcas said, rolling her eyes at the children. "The rest of the guests will arrive in an hour, I think. You four stay here and watch over the little kids until one of the Elves comes here to get you. And if the kids start asking me inappropriate things, I'll make sure you boys don't get the chance to experience anything related to that particular grown-up topic until you're at least _fifty._ "

Sharing a look of terror with Malfoy Nott, Harry quickly said, "Fine, I'll make sure Malfoy keeps his hole shut. I'll even gag him, if I have to. I think Nott will back me up on that."

"Sure. Just hand me the gag and consider it done."

"You're a prick, Potter," Malfoy spat. "And Nott; didn't know you're so kinky."

"Auntie Doe, what is kink – "

"Boys, stop it. No innuendos and no fighting," Dorcas warned.

"Don't worry, Healer Lupin. I'll make sure the three of them behave," Ginny quipped, sending a wink toward Harry and the two Slytherins.

Dorcas smiled and patted Ginny's head fondly. "Glad to know that at least I have you to look after the children, Gin... All right then. Have fun, kids. Bye, Hero."

"Bye, Mummy," the little guy replied, with a figurine stuck in his mouth as he played thumb-war with Hunter, who looked like he would cheat to win.

"You're an arse, Malfoy," Harry said, trying to trip Malfoy as the blond and his friend made their way to sit beside Hunter and Hero.

"Pot calling the kettle black," Malfoy replied, smirking infuriatingly. His attention was diverted however, when little Astrid suddenly plopped down on his lap. It was quite known between the Black-Lupin family and the Malfoys that the blond heir was rather fond of Regulus' girl – much to the utmost displeasure of a certain Malfoy princess.

"Missed you, Draco!" Astrid said, pressing her face against Malfoy's chest as she wrapped her tiny arms around Draco.

"Why, hello, Ace," Malfoy greeted, a gentle smile on his face when Astrid giggled at the nickname Malfoy gave her. "How have you been?"

"I'm fine! Me and Mummy took Auntie Mar and Payne to go Muggle-watching, and it's _fun!_ Do you know what Muggle-watching is, Draco? That's what you do when you go to a Muggle place and watch all the Muggles do – _AWW!_ "

Lyra had just pulled Astrid's long hair, and there was a pout on her face. "Stop talking to my Draco. He's _my_ brother. You have Harry."

Harry knew Hermione must be the only who had ever seen Malfoy laughed so genuinely as he shifted Astrid to the side so he could fit his sister on the other side of his lap. "Princess, Astrid's just saying hello. It's not her fault that she's stuck with a nincompoop like Potter."

"Jerk," Harry spat, throwing a mini-Quaffle at the blond that he dodged successfully.

"That's why you don't need to be jealous about this. I'll _always_ be your brother, remember? You can share me with Astrid."

" _But I don't want to share you with anyone else!_ "

"Tough luck; she already has to share her big brother with Hermione," Ginny whispered to Harry, which made the Gryffindor Seeker chuckled.

Deciding that he'd help Malfoy, just so he could lord the fact over the blond's big head, Harry beckoned Astrid to come to him instead. "Come here, Astrid. You can tell Ginny about how Marlene was freaking out over a ride on the London Eye."

"I haven't finished telling Draco about it," the girl argued.

"You can do my hair while you talk," Ginny persuaded. It made the younger Black grinned and toddled her way toward her box of scrunchies and hairclips before dragging them all toward Ginny.

"Can I help?" Payne asked, her sweet mannerism was nothing like Sirius or Marlene.

"Of course, sweety," Ginny asked, gently patting the girl's cheek, which made Payne smiled.

"Thank you, Gin – "

 _"HARRY, HUNTER BITED ME!"_

"Hunter, we've agreed that you can't bite when you're losing," Harry said, sighing as he crawled over toward the two boys, positioning himself between the two to prevent them from fighting.

"But Dad says it's okay," Hunter argued, pouting in a way that the adults often remarked as the patented Black-pout.

"Well, your father is a horridly, over-grown baby," Harry replied with a roll of his eyes. "Now, apologise to Hero or I'll tell your mother."

Sighing dramatically, Hunter then gave his hand to Hero, who took it easily as if he wasn't about to jump his slightly older best friend. "I'm sorry I bited you, Hero. Still friends?"

"Of course!" Hero replied, an ear-splitting on his face as he hugged Hunter.

"Dear Salazar; Potter's turned into a Weasley with all these little buggers!" Malfoy said to Nott, who laughed in return. Not wanting to be left out of the joke, Lyra laughed as well, chanting 'Weasley' over and over again as she pointed at Harry.

"You're lucky you have your sister with you, Malfoy," Harry said with a fake smile. "If you hadn't, I'd have bashed your head in."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Leave him alone, Malfoy," Ginny intervened before Harry could sneak a punch at Malfoy's pointy face, careful not to hurt Lyra instead because her cowardly brother used her body as a shield. The blond took a glance at Ginny and gave an infuriating grin.

"Oh, look Potter! You've got yourself a gilfriend!"

When Ginny blushed furiously the same way Ron would, Harry was sure his own face was just as red as she was. Giving Malfoy a two-finger salute, the girl then said, "You're an absolute menace, Malfoy. I have no idea how Hermione could put up with you."

At this, Malfoy sobered up. Even though he didn't blush, Harry knew that the blond was embarrassed. With a smirk of his own, Harry jumped at the chance to tease the Slytherin. "Wow, Malfoy. You're blushing. I didn't know you could do that."

"I am _not,_ " Malfoy spat, scowling murderously. This only made Harry smirked wider. Fortunately for him, not for Draco though, Ginny and Nott decided to join him.

"Ooh, you _so_ are blushing, mate," Nott quipped with a mischievous grin. "No offence to you, Weaslette, but don't you agree that Draco has turned just as red as your hair?"

"He sure is," Ginny replied, chuckling evilly.

"You prats are so full of shite. I am _not_ blushing!"

"But you are!"

"I'm not!

"Yes, you are!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are t – "

"What are you doing harrassing my boyfriend?" a familiar voice said, sounding both amused and snotty. As if on cue, the four teenagers in the room turned around toward the door and found Hermione Granger standing there with a small grin. While Draco broke into a wide grin, the other three froze as if they were hit by the Full-Body Bind Curse.

 _"Hermione!"_ the three little girls yelled as they all rushed toward the bookworm, wrapping their arms around her legs.

"Hello, girls," Hermione greeted, lowering herself so she could return the hug before turning her attention back to Malfoy. "Well? Anyone's going to explain? Draco?"

"It's nothing, Granger," Malfoy replied smoothly, the look on his face softening as he waved at her to come in and sit beside him. "We're just being friendly, believe it or not."

"Hm… I don't really believe that, but if you say so. I'm glad all of you are getting along though."

"Anything for you, bookworm."

Then, as if it was something that they did regularly, which seemed to be the truth from the way they did it, they both leaned toward each other for a kiss, earning giggles and squeals from the little girls while the little boys made faces and gagging noises. And that, was how the three other teenagers snapped out of their shock.

 _"What the hell!"_ Nott yelped loudly.

"You're _finally_ together? _"_ Ginny exclaimed, just as shocked.

"BOYFRIEND?" Harry yelled.

The Gryffindor Seeker had to stop himself from physically wiping Malfoy's smirk off his face when the prat aimed it at him, once he'd stopped kissing Hermione. "Oh, right. We forgot to tell you that we're together now."

"Since when?" Harry, Ginny and Nott chorused.

"After the Yule Ball," Hermione admitted quietly, looking like she felt guilty for not telling. "We didn't plan to keep it a secret from all of you, honest. It just, with everything that happened, slipped our mind."

"Yeah," the blond Slytherin cofirmed, shrugging. "It's entirely your fault anyway, Potter. Everyone's attention was on you and we'd _hate_ taking the limelight from you. I personally prefer to keep everything between me and Hermione. But not her. She insisted to tell all of her friends and _my_ friends about this. And you know she's basically a saint. So we agreed to look for the right time to tell you all about our relationship."

"Wow, mate. You truly have it _bad_ for her," Nott said, looking thoroughly amazed.

Smirking as he leaned to steal a kiss from Hermione, Malfoy said, "Why, of course, Nott. It's not my fault that I have such a _perfect_ girlfriend."

* * *

Lucius hated parties. Of _any_ kind.

Well, except for his wedding reception.

That was the best party he'd ever attended in his entire life.

He still remembered that day when he married Narcissa. The woman who still took his breath away, even after twenty years of being married. Like most Pureblood families, Lucius' bride had been determined even way before he was born. When he was old enough to understand the meaning of marriage, he was introduced to Andromeda Black, the second born of the three Black sisters, at his eleventh birthday party. A few months his junior, the middle-child of Cygnus and Druelle Black soon became a good friend of his. He would even say Andromeda, fondly dubbed as Andy by Lucius and her sisters, was his first and only best friend. At the time, Lucius thought that if he had to marry someone he wasn't in love with, he was glad that he was marrying his best friend. True, he wouldn't have experienced the kind of passionate love that he once overheard during one of his parents' parties. But at least, he and Andromeda cared about each other enough and would love each other as friends would.

Everything changed in his third year, when he first noticed Andromeda's younger sister.

 _("Well, well, well," Andromeda said in barely repressed amusement when Lucius kept on staring at Narcissa. "Careful there, best friend. I think your eyes are going to jump out of their sockets.")_

Everyone always talked about how Cynus and Druelle were really blessed for having such beautiful daughters. People argued all the time about which one of the sisters was the most beautiful. But Lucius? He always knew that Narcissa was the most beautiful of all the Black sisters. Ever since her Sorting night, Lucius always found himself watching her whenever they were in the same room together. He remembered the bedtime stories his late Grandmother Helena used to tell him when he was a child, before she passed away when he was only five years old. She always told him of a story about the devil who fell in love with an angel. Every time he looked at the youngest Black sister, Lucius would think how apt it was that his name had a relation with the Muggle devil Lucifer, yet he'd fallen in love with the perfect epitome of an angel. But he soon remember his bethrotal to Andromeda, and it took everything in him to pretend that he felt nothing when it was revealed that Narcissa was to marry her cousin Sirius.

He was almost seventeen when he first found out about Andromeda's relationship with the Muggle-born Ted Tonks. He was having his Prefect rounds when he saw Andromeda and Tonks sneaking out of an empty classroom, both going on separate ways after they shared a lovely kiss, oblivious to Lucius' presence. At first, he was enraged and disgusted that someone who was born into the most elite Pureblood family in the world was eyeing some pathetic _Mudblood._ But after awhile, after he spent a couple months before the summer watching the two of them stealing glances at each other, after watching the both of them sharing a laugh when he was spying on them, Lucius found himself _envying_ the relationship they had. He wanted that too. He wanted that kind of relationship to share with someone he loved – _with Narcissa._ That was the moment he realised why Andromeda had never said anything about him falling for her sister.

For she too, had found someone else to love in the way that most Pureblood weren't privileged too.

He just turned twenty-one on the day of his official engagement with Andromeda. He remembered that day really well. He remembered how he sat in the living room of Cynus' home, remembered how the Black partriarch and his wife were shrieking at the note their middle-child had left, remembered how he both envied and rejoiced when he heard about how Andromeda had ran away to elope with Tonks. He remembered everything that day, because that was the day things turned out for the better for him. Because that was the day when his bethroted was changed from Andromeda into Narcissa.

The day that he knew, he would do everything in his power to ensure the happiness and safety for the love of his life.

"There you are, best friend," Andromeda Black's voice surprised him out of his reverie. Lucius had escaped the festivity of the party and went for a walk around the Manor's vast garden. He then went to take a rest in Irina Black's greenhouse, smoking his outrageously expensive cigar.

"Hello, Andy," Lucius greeted, taking one last drag of his cigar before Vanishing it with his wand.

"What are you doing hiding here in the greenhouse, Lord Sulky? The party isn't fancy enough for you?" Andromeda teased as she took a seat beside Lucius.

"Ha-ha-ha," Lucius remarked dryly, rolling his eyes. "Very funny, Andy. What are you doing here yourself? Why aren't you in there?"

"Cissy saw you sneaking out. She would have gone after you herself, but she was in the middle of nagging Tonks into wearing the old family heirloom for her wedding tiara. I'd been trying to make Tonks agree to it, so it's just perfect that Cissy is doing it now. I went to get you instead. We both know how much of a party-pooper you are."

"Ah, I see... I thought you were gettick sick of your daughter smooching her brand new fiance."

Lucius couldn't help the grin when he saw Andromeda scowled at the mention of her daughter. " _Ugh_ , it's like I never taught her anything about public display of affection. I wouldn't even be surprised if one day she found herself choking on Charlie's tongue."

"At this point, it's a wonder his tongue hasn't fallen off yet," Lucius mused with a grin. "I think Molly Weasley is very close from hexing her own son at this point."

Both of them sobered up a little as they remembered how the Weasley martriarch didn't seem like the lively woman they all knew. Lucius had heard from his son about the domestic feud the Weasley family had among themselves. He wouldn't admit it, but he took a pity on them. He couldn't imagine going head to head with his own children. If there was anyone that he loved more than Narcissa, it would be Draco and Lyra. It would break his heart and his spirit entirely if his children hated him. After all, he wasn't as unfeeling as people always assumed him to be.

"I never thought our lives would lead to this, you know?" Andromeda said. "From the moment I decided to leave my family behind for Ted, I thought I'd lost everything. I didn't think I would have such a big family in the form of Sirius and Remus, and Regulus, and Narcissa and you."

Lucius nodded, thinking of how his life had gone for the past fifteen years. "I know. I never thought I'd be defecting the Dark Lord to join you do-gooders. Not until hell freezes over, at least."

"Are you ever worried?" Andromeda asked. And for the first time that night, or since the time he finally got back on good terms with her, Lucius truly looked into Andromeda's eyes. They were black, like her older sister and mother. But, unlike the two older women, Andromeda's eyes were lit with warmth and love, not hatred and anger.

"I'm _terrified_ ," Lucius admitted in a small voice. "When I went to save your cousin, I'd guessed that there would be consequences for me to pay. I was ready to face them. I was ready to _die_ for what I did. But then they _tortured_ Draco, and that was when I realised what I'd really done. You have no idea, Andy, how my son would scream himself hoarse every night because of his nightmares. And every single time, as I rock him gently in my arms, offering him the safety that is a little too late for me to offer, I feel like I've failed him. I failed at protecting him. Even after almost two years, it still haunts him. He suffered so much in Pettigrew's hands, and it's all because of _me._ "

"It's not your fault, Lucius. It's _never_ your fault," Andromeda said firmly. "I mean, Draco still looks at you as if you're God. He still practically worships the ground you walk on. He _loves_ you, Lucius. If it's ever anyone's fault, it would be Pettigrew himself. Every time I listen about what happened to Draco, I feel like going on a hunt for Pettigrew myself so I could make his death a slow and painful one. No one is allowed to torture my nephew and get away with it."

"When I have my hands on Pettigrew, he'd wish he'd never been born," Lucius snarled. He pictured all the horrible things he would do to the psychotic freak, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that the thought made him smile.

"Oh, I'd like to see you try, Malfoy," a voice said from behind the small water fountain not far from Lucius and Andromeda were.

The two best friends turned around in an inhuman speed, their wands raised in the direction of the voice. When Pettigrew's form was slowly revealed, Lucius didn't hesitate to shoot a hex at the derranged man. With worrying ease, Pettigrew merely deflected it with a wave of the wand in his silver arm. The spell hit the glass walls of the greenhouse, and would have hit Andromeda if the witch hadn't erected a powerful Protection Charm. In the end, it hit the water fountain, blowing it into smitherens. Lucius only had a split second to protect himself and Andromeda from the flying debris of the water fountain, waving his wand in a slashing motion to crush the bigger ones into smaller pieces. By the time he was done, he found that Pettigrew wasn't alone, and that Andromeda had shot a powerful hex at Pettigrew, who was forced to hide behind his four companions because he wasn't quick enough this time to deflect it. As Lucius fired hexes after hexes at his former Death Eater comrades, Lucius realised that the people back in the Manor had heard the commotion in the greenhouse. It was confirmed when he heard familiar voices of the Black brothers and Remus Lupin coming toward them, all three of them firing hexes as well.

Lucius felt his blood rushing in adrenaline as he fought side by side with Andromeda, and he couldn't help it when a small grin began to grow. It almost felt like he was a teenager again, duelling against some pesky Gryffindors with Andromeda helping him. The gravity of what really happened wasn't lost on him, but as he glanced at Andromeda, who looked like she'd been having the same thoughts as he did when she winked at him, it was easy for him to pretend that he wasn't fighting the Dark Lord's henchmen. Even when the Black brothers and Lupin had joined them, standing next to Andromeda as they too attacked the Pettigrew and his companions ferociously, Lucius felt oddly free and relaxed. For the first time in years since he graduated from Hogwarts, as he let out a carefree laugh when he Stunned Pettigrew, Lucius felt truly and immensely happy. He was still laughing when the younger Black was tying up the filthy bastards with an enchanted rope while his brother was interrogating Pettigrew.

"Lucius, are you alright?" Andromeda asked, looking extremely worried after he'd been laughing for almost three minutes straight.

"I'm fine," Lucius said, his laughter had turned into chuckles. "It's just… I felt like a bit nostalgic, that's all."

"Malfoy, did you just _giggle_?" the witch gasped, shocked. "Merlin's beard, _you did_!"

Shrugging, Lucius said, "I'm old, Andy. I'm allowed to do whatever I want once in awhile. Someone as young as you wouldn't understand."

In an instant, Andromeda's cheeky grin faded into a pout. "You're only _five months_ older than me!"

"Yeah, but when you were just born, I could already sit. Just deal with it, Andy. I'm older than you are. Some day, you'll have to bury me."

"I'm going to bury you _right now,_ you insolent bas – "

"As adorable as it is to watch you two bicker," Lupins' voice interrupted them, sounding amused. "Can we get some help here? Can one of you go get Kingsley and ask him bring some of the on-duty Aurors here? He's training the new Aurors tonight, so we can't send him a Patronus lest someone's going to find out about this."

"I'll do it," Andromeda volunteered. "Do you need Moody as well?"

"That'll be great. Thanks, Andy."

Lucius watched his old friend running back toward the Manor, where he saw everyone else was trying to go to the greenhouse, only to be stopped by her. Turning his attention back to Pettigrew and his companions, he began to listen to the interrogation that was happening. None of their captives were willing to talk about how they'd managed to break into the Manor. They all merely smirked at the older Black, whose jaw was clenched so tight in barely repressed rage, Lucius feared it might snap. He had just decided that he would take over the interrogation himself, thinking of all the Dark spells he'd cast on Pettigrew to make him talk, when he felt a hand grabbed his right shoulder tightly. It was Regulus. Much to Lucius' utmost horror, the younger Black's nose was bleeding, and he had gone three shades paler than Lucius' own pale complexion. It didn't take him hard to realise that the little action they'd just done was too much for Regulus' barely recovering health.

Judging from the way his older brother was swaying, Lucius could tell that the Auror was fighting to stay conscious. And it seemed like Lucius wasn't the only one who noticed that.

"Oh, will you look at that! Are you going to faint, Padfoot?" Pettigrew said mockingly. "Aw, poor you. You haven't truly recovered, have you?"

"Of course, he hasn't. That's the downside of being part-fae, I guess," a Death Eater named Travers replied. "And _whoop!_ Down his brother goes!"

True enough, Regulus' eyes rolled to the back of his head as he lost his consciousness. If he wasn't standing right next to Regulus, Lucius wouldn't be quick enough to catch him from falling head first onto the ground. The part-Veela only had the chance to warn Lupin to catch Sirius when his best friend fainted as well. And with Sirius being unconscious, the Spell that kept Pettigrew and his cronied tied was lifted. Waving smugly at Lucius and Lupin, the five of them began to Transform into rats, led by Pettigrew who took his usual form. The blond cursed under his breath when he watched Pettigrew and the other four Death Eaters started to dig down into the ground before disappearing from view.

"That rat bastard _dug_ his way in!" Lucius exclaimed. "That must be how he'd gotten it. Black didn't put Animagi Repelling Charm around perimeter, did he?"

"Well, you know both Sirius and Black are Animagi," Lupin replied matter-of-factly. Lucius could only nod and huff in response.

"You all have to move out then," the blond said. "It won't be save for all of you to stay here. Obviously, one of the Death Eater Sacreds spilled the beans about the location of the Black Manor. I'm surprised they didn't do it sooner."

"You're right… I'll try to talk the brothers into moving out. It won't be easy, though. You know how vulnerable they are without the Tree. But I'll try. It's either that, or getting the rest of our family slaughtered."

"I'll help in any way I can. In the mean time, we have to get these two inside. We need your wife to check on them."

Together, both Lucius and Lupin carefully Levitated the brothers back into the Manor, where everyone had been waiting restlessly for them. Healer Lupin didn't even waste her time and immediately began her examination on her friends once Lucius and Lupin had brought them into the closest room they found. The blond felt his heart clenched when he saw the terrified looks on Marlene and Irina Black's faces, both of them holding onto each other as Harry Potter rubbed their shoulders in an attempt to comfort them. The guests all looked shocked, all of them struck silent even when Andromeda had arrived with Kingsley Shacklebot and Mad-Eye Moody. Andromeda, who was always gifted in Healing even though she didn't have any training, immediately helped the petite Healer, both of the muttering incantations that sounded unfamiliar in Lucius' ears. Upon finding out that Pettigrew and his companions had escaped, Moody let out a long-string of curses that caused Shacklebot to send a reprimanding glare in the older Auror's direction – not like former Head Auror cared about it. The two of them then assigned the Aurors that came with them to start on a hunt for the five escapee, trusting Tonks to lead them on that mission.

"It's begun, hasn't it, Father," a voice said from beside him, surprising Lucius even though he knew it could only be his son.

"What is it, Draco?" Lucius asked without looking, too busy watching Lupin discussing some kind of a plan with Shacklebot about moving the whole family out of the Manor.

"The War," Draco answered calmly. "This is it, isn't it? We're looking at the dawn of a War."

Finally turning to his son, Lucius noted not for the first time that his son, who used to sit on his lap as he told him stories about the Three Brothers, had grown so much and so quick in the past two years since he was tortured. Draco was almost as tall Lucius was now, and his grey eyes, so much like Lucius' own grey ones, looked older than they were supposed to be. It hurt Lucius to think that _this_ was the world he'd brought his children into. A world torn with war and hatred. A world where he, no matter what Andromeda told him, had failed to protect his son. But Lucius swore, by his life and his ancestors' life before him, that he would _never_ let any harm fell on any of his children. He would gladly lay down his life for his family, something that no one in the long history of Malfoys had ever done before. Lucius would be the first Malfoy to fight for the Light, _and he was fucking proud of it._

Embracing his son, Lucius then said, "Yes, Draco. I'm afraid we are."

"Will you let fight with you?" Draco asked, looking both determined and hopeful. "I can fight, Father. I can help you."

Smiling, the older Malfoy surprised his son when he hugged him. And as he lovingly stroked his son's back, Lucius lied for the first time to Draco.

"Of course, son. I wouldn't want anyone else to keep me save."

 _(I'm sorry, but I have to do this. I have to.)_

Because there was no way he'd risk his son's safety.


End file.
